Hey everyone, you're listening to Code Switch, the show about race and identity from NPR.

I'm B.A. Parker and I'm here today with NPR Climate Reporter, Rebecca Hirscher.

Hey, Rebecca.

Hey.

Now, Rebecca, you live in Baltimore.

I grew up in Baltimore County.

Right, you're from Baltimore County.

I live in Baltimore City.

It's a small distinction unless you're from there.

Exactly, exactly.

And you know, I live here and there's a local story that I've been following and I thought of you

because I know you have a lot of love for this place and it's a story about the trains

that carry coal through the county and the city.

Growing up in Baltimore, I never considered that I grew up in a coal town.

Every once in a while, I'd hear a train sound its horn in the distance but I didn't pay much attention to it.

It was just a train track you crossed to get to the mall.

But Rebecca, you opened my eyes to an interesting truth.

Yeah, there is a lot of coal moving through Baltimore every day.

It comes from West Virginia and Pennsylvania and other coal mining areas.

And it's shipped from Baltimore all over the world.

And right now, my colleagues on the NPR climate desk, they're doing a whole series of stories about climate solutions.

You know, about how to get away from our reliance on fossil fuels like coal.

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