Black mud

I took this in a village called Kim Lan, a ceramics producing centre not far from the more famous Bat Trang, in Hung Yen province east of Hanoi. The kilns here burn coal and the whole village was covered in coal dust that turned to mud after rain. Yes, we visited on a cold, wet day in late 2001. It's a reminder that coal produces other pollutants besides carbon dioxide and that it costs a lot of money to clean up the mess and to make places more pleasant to live in for those who need to use the fuel for energy. Actually Vietnamese coal is anthracite, which burns relatively cleanly compared to softer, bituminous coals, so you don't see the smoke-haze that characterizes other coal-burning industries. It doesn't have the sulphur content either. But it's still filthy stuff!