Big Coal's Big Green Turd

It was not so long ago that the coal industry could just issue propaganda without reference to coal's problems. Coal was "reliable, affordable, and increasingly clean" and it powered green, useful things like Washington, DC's Metro system.

So imagine my glee when I woke up this morning and pulled the latest Southern Company insert from my morning newspaper. Here it is:



I think the androgynous yuppie happily contemplating the radioactive turd is supposed to convince us that said turd is actually a piece of coal that has been magically "greened."

I was smiling, of course, not because this insert represented a new, revolting low in graphic arts, but because Southern Company now feels compelled to fight not so much for the ability to build new coal-fired power plants, but for survival.

All that climate organizing (and investment) seems to be getting to them. As much as the coal industry claims President Obama as an ally, he's also the guy who said they'd be bankrupted if they don't capture their carbon dioxide, which may be an impossible task - and is definitely exceedingly expensive and polluting.

And now, in a jobs and economy-focused Congress, Big Coal has a new challenge: arguing why they should be allowed to live when coal is increasingly being seen as a job killer: putting money into coal means less than half the number of jobs as investments in efficiency, conservation, or clean energy and $167 billion in extra annual health costs related to coal's regular toxic pollution, not to mention the $271 billion annual drag global warming will exert on the economy by 2025.

Oh, and more than 1,000 people are about to participate in the biggest civil disobedience in U.S. history on climate issues - by protesting a coal plant.

Expect more of Big Coal's green turds of desperation with your coffee.

Comments

[jsgaetano]

I laugh every time I hear the phrase "clean coal".

That makes about as much "common sense" as saying "healthy poison", or "conservative thought".

[heartlandjim]

Coal and oil are not the answer to all of our problems, but don't forget we need them for the 25 years it's going to take to make the transition to clean energy.

[research]

5-10 rooftop solar and wind if we put 2-5 trillion dollars in it. (WWI = 5T$)
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/users/profile/research

[Rucio]

Although plentiful, coal remains cheap because the industry, from mining to burning, is allowed to skirt labor and environmental laws. Enforce those laws, and coal's advantage over other sources of electricity will dwindle. As it is, a little greenwash will indeed suffice to keep it going strong.

[niko73]

Tell a thousand people in small communities in northwest Colorado that coal is a job killer. It's the employment lifeblood in many areas in America. jayrayspicer is right about dangers, but potential workers are well aware of the risks when they sign on, and many still sign on. Let's allow them to decide whether they want the job or not.

I agree we need to transition as quickly as possible. But I'm worried that in a post-Peak Oil world we're going to need all the energy sources we can get our hands on.

[swag]

Still the #1 reason I spew my coffee in the face of any environmental wannabe who raves about the day we all drive electric cars.

[draikow]

...or Mountain-Top Removal...

[jayrayspicer]

Not to mention the number of miners who die in mine accidents or from diseases caused by coal mining. Coal is a killer. We need to move beyond it as rapidly as we can.