In his first, he told weary Britons that even New York was a war casualty, driven to burning filthy soft coal and hoarding butter.

ECONOMIST: Alistair Cooke

Which makes sense, considering that it's the stuff that coal is made of (lignite coal is soft brown coal formed from geologic pressures on forests that died millions of years ago).

FORBES: Ethanol

He will also announce plans for a fresh round of soft loans to help clean up China's filthy coal-burning power stations.

ECONOMIST: Japan��s war with China, revisited