Some of the very volatile coal stocks like Alpha Natural Resources ( ANR) and Arch Coal ( ACI) have had some very dramatic, but brief rallies for nimble short-term traders.

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The background level of tropospheric ozone is inexorably rising as volatile organic compounds are released from burning coal and oil.

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Consider, gold is no more volatile than other metals yet it carries at least a 20 percent premium over copper, iron ore and coal equities.

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