Missouri economic outlook bleak as the era of “cheap” electricity draws to a close

Missouri enjoys some of the cheapest electricity in the country, thanks to entrenched economic incentives to burn as much coal as possible and 21 coal-fired power plants emitting over 75 million tons of carbon dioxide per year. But consumers who can least afford cleaner coal costs worry that they will bear most of that cost burden. “Electricity is a major factor in what we can afford,” said Wendi Wood, wife of a fourth-generation farmer. She wants Washington to fight climate change, but said, “Don’t hurt the rural farmer and rural America to do it.”  Full story: The New York Times