I think you could make the case that consistently breathing PM from wood burning fires would be much worse for those individuals than the longer term ill effects of global warming, etc.... just as it would be worse for individuals to be in
the path of coal burning smoke as opposed to suffering the long term consequences.
Not counting carbon emissions from
burning the
coal, scientists, environmentalists, and concerned citizens along
coal transport routes are worried that these cumulative impacts will harm public health, disrupt their daily lives, and negatively impact the ecological health
of waterways along the
path from mine to port.