• China mines around 45 percent of the world’s coal every year, making it by far the largest coal producer.
• The coal miners' lung disease, pneumoconiosis, caused 260,000 deaths around the world in 2013, an increase of 3.5 percent on 1990. In the United States, where pneumoconiosis has accounted for 76,000 deaths since 1968, more than 45 billion dollars have been spent in federal compensation for miners and their dependents.
• Burning peat to produce electricity releases more carbon dioxide emissions than coal, and almost twice as much as natural gas.
• Petroleum products, such as petrol, diesel and kerosene supply about 37 percent of U.S. energy needs.
• The United States is the No.1 producer (and consumer) of oil, followed by Saudi Arabia, Russia and Canada. The USA is also the world's largest producer of natural gas.
• Over 65 percent of all new natural gas production over the last decade has been produced using fracking methods. Fracking is controversial because of its environmental footprint.
• Roughly 26 percent of global electrical power comes from renewable sources.
• A recent Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) report states that U.S. fossil fuel use can be cut by 80 percent by 2050. To achieve this, Americans must cut their energy consumption in half, develop renewable energy resources to the point that they supply 80 percent of all power, electrify almost all types of transportation, and stop using fossil fuel heating or cooking systems in homes and offices.