'Coal Train Blues' Needs To Win A Grammy ASAP (VIDEO)

WATCH: The Only Thing Worse Than The 'Folsom Prison Blues'...

Well, replacing the lyrics from a famous song with coal-related facts is one heck of a way to spread environmental awareness, especially if it's to the heel-tapping, feel-good hit, "Folsom Prison Blues."

Portland-based Johnny Cash tribute band, Counterfeit Cash, has so cleverly performed "Coal Train Blues" that it's bound to get stuck in your head and spread as fast as -- eh, coal dust.

Though catchy, Counterfeit Cash's new hit is no heel-tapping, feel-good song after all. Companies are seeking to transport coal from Montana and Wyoming's Powder River Basin through the Columbia River Gorge -- an 85-mile long river canyon in Oregon and Washington -- for eventual export to Asia. U.S. coal exports would double under this plan, with 25 coal trains passing through the Gorge every day and barge traffic doubling, according to Friends of the Columbia Gorge. The resulting coal dust and diesel emissions pose a tremendous threat to the Gorge's air and water quality, natural habitat and human health, critics warn.

(h/t Grist)

Before You Go

'War On Coal' Rhetoric

Popular in the Community

Close

What's Hot