Coen Brothers Direct New "Clean Coal" Ad (VIDEO)

The Reality Campaign has released a new ad. They're the folks behind the widely-played ad that featured a foreman in a hard hat taking viewers on a tour of a non-existent clean coal facility.

In this new ad, a pitchman gives us the hard sell on a "Clean Coal Clean"-scented air freshener that works just as well as "clean coal."

The ad is directed by the Coen brothers, the team that wrote and directed "The Big Lebowski," "Fargo," "The Hudsucker Proxy" and other great films.

WATCH:

Comments

[rockyersocksoff]

Coal is clean.

Nuclear waste is delicious.

CO2 doesn't trap heat.

And Rush Limbaugh is honest and svelte.

[RationalDubSteppa]

I don't like any of these commercials because they are meaningless and pointless, sure they add nice little zingers to an message that we would otherwise support but where is the substance behind the movement, or are we just going to ride the one-liners?

[GuyRC]

I thought it was great. Especially the part about the Industry harnessing the incredibel power of the word clean. You have to fight PR with PR. There are a lot of people who actually believe there is a Clean Coal Industry. PR is why and PR is needed to shift their thinking.

[JuergenHartl]

It is not pointless!
Clean Coal: they filter out all the CO2 and then pump it underground.
Nobody can guarantee that it will stay there, or for how long it will be trapped. Just imagine we really embrace that technology. We produce energy with it for lets say 50 years or so and then: Whomp the whole CO2 deposit is released. Great!
We reduce our CO2 at the risk of our (grand-) children.

[Nyland8]

Fifty years ago there was no such thing as clean automobiles. But that didn't stop us from tightening tolerances, reclaiming escaping gases, fuel injection, catalytic converters, removing lead from fuel, etc. And at the time, most of these improvements were dismissed as unnecessary government regulation - undoable, or impractical at best. But nobody can deny the positive impact they've had.

LIkewise scrubbing sulphur dioxide from smokestacks to reduce acid rain - which we have reduced. Or, for that matter, the impracticality of treating sewage when we could just pump it into our rivers - with all the other pollutants we once pumped into them.

But we chose to treat sewage. And to improve automobiles. And to curtail indiscriminate dumping. And to scrub smokestacks.

And all of these things ... and others ... have improved our environment, developed new technologies and created jobs.

Why should coal be any different?

The fact that there has never been such a thing as clean coal is not a good reason to stop advancing toward that eventuality. History teaches us otherwise.

8

[Haditup2here]

Thanks.

Although, I don't disclaim the fact that coal is a strong contributor of CO2, technology has been in place to remove sulfur (through wet-scrubbing and/or hot gas clean-up )and nitrogen from emissions. Currently, there is work being done in carbon sequestration which will probably take eight to ten years before a full-scale demonstrating prototype can be built here in the U.S. Overall, I wish people would do their research before making comments.

[TLV]

I realize there probably is no such thing as clean coal, but what will those who have relied on working in the coal industry for their livelihoods do? This is a huge problem, generations deep, and it must be dealt with. With the economy as poor as it is, how can this be accomplished?

[dashboard]

No country for coal men.

[CoffeeWithGibbs]

i think the idea is to take the men out of the coal mines and put them into a factory making solar panels and wind turbines. If i were a coal miner, what difference would it be which job i do, as long as im making a decent living and providing for my family.

[littlepuffycloud]

No wonder this commercial made me stop, watch and laugh at the oxymoron of clean coal.

[walk0nwalls]

I saw this on TV and was really really impressed

Go Coens!

I demand a No Country commercial next.

[kburlz]

I don't like these anti-clean coal ads. They don't explain what's wrong with it, they just make fun of the words "clean coal." After I watch them I am asking myself, "so what exactly is wrong with clean coal?" They don't educate.

[ObserverinVancouver]

Clean coal is an oxymoron. You're supposed to know this and share the absurdist joke.

[norkas]

I have 5 fingers S T U F F E D up my nose all the way to my elbow and that is the ONLY clean coal i know of

[binq56]

There is no such thing as clean coal. Period. No technology exists. The coal industry is selling something that has not been invented. That's what's wrong with clean coal.

[Kent Dolezal]

Hmm. Has been invented? Well, then maybe researching it would be a good idea. I don't think we can just write coal off so easily. We as a nation have a lot of coal. We need to find a way to use it responsibly. Research. Not snarky ads that don't help.

[Kent Dolezal]

Should be "hasn't been invented" in my reply. Drat.

[racetoinfinity]

Excellent ad, and I'm very glad to learn that the very bright Coen bros. are not nihilists; absurdists, yes, but not nihilists, as I'd feared.

[culturaldiplomat]

This is what Robert Kennedy talked about before it was funny or popular. Natural resources and open spaces are part of "The American Dream" and worth preserving.

[Tom95134]

Very clever. It is running on air.

[ex-eye-in-the-sky]

Best commercial I've seen lately! Perfect description of "Clean Coal".

[wdw505]

no it was just 31 seconds i will not ever get back......­....wasted time

[zola77]

it's a shame that you have no sense of humor, its a real asset in life - you should try buying a used one from a thrift store.

[Matmet]

Bravo! Cohen's do it again with humor but to the point. Bravo! Clean Coal what a joke.

[wdw505]

Mr .bo doesn't think it is a joke......­....laughi­ng

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GehK7Q_QxPc

[rshrink]

Our current Kansas Governor once supported "clean coal.' Many of us wrote expressing our concern. She changed her mind, but the Republicans continue to fight for this in my state. Likely, we will need federal support to prevent them from eventually moving ahead over the objections of the majority of Kansans, who still also stupidly vote for these tenacious repubs. "What's the Matter with Kansas?"
I have written to Obama, did so immediately after his speech to protest the "clean coal" nonsense. Although I would imagine that he should have access to the same information I have, I offered to send him some information, starting with the disaster in Roane County, Tennessee. (Al Gore's home state) I hope everyone will write him immediately about the lunacy of clean coal.

[george0820]

Funny, but sad.

[blood1]

The ad is a little over the top, but the point being made is accurate. We have not seen a Big Coal response..­.why...bec­ause they would be caught lying!

I was a little dismayed that Pres. Obama mentioned "clean coal" in his speech on Tuesday...that was pure political pandering - but no one on the right has argued the point.....hmmmmm?

[Herodotus Shoggoth]

Well, he's also in favor of Biofuel subsidies, and biofuel is deeply inefficient. He's not perfect, and he does have to make nods to the "right people". He's still a politician after all.

[Tom95134]

A video of models walking down a fashion runway wearing animal skins with blood dripping and spraying off them is over the op. This ad is very clever and directly to the point.