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The M.I.T. study, however, concludes that many of coal's problems will be solved by the simple economics of energy. Since the beginning of 1979 the basic OPEC cost of crude oil has leaped from $12.70 to $30 per bbl., or the energy equivalent of about $144 per ton for coal. Yet American coal costs only about $35 per ton to mine. Pollution-control regulations increase the cost of using coal. In the U.S., which has strict and expensive environmental standards for burning coal, the added cost is about $25 per ton. Thus, even including all environmental and transportation costs, coal is now roughly 60% cheaper than oil. Says M.I.T. Professor Carroll L. Wilson, director of the study: "At present prices, coal is becoming the world's energy bargain par excellence, for no matter how stiff the environmental standards in effect in any country, the fuel will still remain substantially cheaper, more plentiful and more reliable than petroleum."