Coal for President

Josh Dorner has written a great piece on how infectious the coal industry is trying to become. I’ve already seen numerous extremely deceptive advertisements on television about “clean” coal, which to me is the equivalent of a “soothing” kick to the groin. According to Dorner’s article, both Democrats and Republicans are whores of the industry, though some are standing up to the fight:

First, the coal front group sponsored the most recent Democratic debate, held in Las Vegas.  As a sponsor it was given special access to the site and was actively leafleting those assembled in secure areas off limits to the Sierra Club and other groups. Not coincidentally, Nevada happens to be the site one of the biggest fights in the ongoing battle to stop the coal rush.  Fortunately Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has not only taken an outspoken stance against the coal plants slated to be in his home state, but also has called for a moratorium on new coal plants worldwide.

And now to the greater of two evils:

Leaving no lung unblackened, this week the industry turned its attention to the Sunshine State. Its latest quarry was the Republican YouTube debate on CNN — a debate that featured not a single question about global warming or the negative impacts of the coal industry.  Again, surely without coincidence, Florida is home to Gov. Charlie Crist, a Republican who is on a much publicized, and highly successful (with some help from the Sierra Club) “crusade against coal.” Half a dozen polluting projects have already been cancelled just in Florida this year.

The light at the end of tunnel:

Google, the owner of YouTube, was quick to run for the exits when asked about the industry’s backing of the debate. Just this week Google itself announced it would commit hundreds of millions of dollars to making renewables cheaper than coal. When questioned about the odd timing of the two events, Google immediately shifted the blame to CNN.

If brown power keeps getting the boot, which I hope it will, renewables will be in line to fill the energy demand in the coming years. And the more wind, solar, biomass and the like we use, the cheaper it will become. Then politicians can become whores of decent, earth-loving pimps, and that’s a world we can all live in.