You may have noticed a refreshingly different kind of commercial running on prime-time television lately. Instead of touting “clean coal,” this campaign asserts that there is NO Clean Coal.
The commercial is funded by the Reality Coalition, a national grassroots and advertising effort that is attempting to get the truth out. Who’s behind Reality? the Alliance for Climate Protection, League of Conservation Voters, National Wildlife Federation, Natural Resources Defense Council and Sierra Club.
Environmental experts agree that coal is the dirtiest fuel America uses to produce electricity, and the Reality Coalition is challenging the coal industry to come clean–in its advertising and in its operations. Coal cannot be considered clean until its carbon dioxide emissions are captured and stored. And many believe that untested capture methods, which are at best years away from employment, are nothing more than a distraction from ongoing practices.
“The reality is that there’s not a single home or business in America today powered by clean coal,” said Brian Hardwick of the Alliance for Climate Protection. “If coal really wants to be part of America’s energy future, the industry can start by making a real commitment to eliminating their pollution that is a leading cause of global warming.”
Hardwick continued: No matter how much they say it in their advertising, coal can’t truly be clean until the plants can capture the global warming pollution. With so much at stake, we can’t afford to hang our hats on an illusion.”
The “Reality” Coalition echoes the call made by former Vice
President Al Gore in a
recent New York Times op-ed that until coal is truly clean, there
should be no new coal-fired power plants built in America.
“The coal industry has spent hundreds of millions promoting ‘clean coal’ technology, but in reality, there is not a single large-scale demonstration project in the United States for capturing and safely burying all of coal’s CO2 emissions,” Vice President Gore said. “The industry must make good its promise if they truly want to do their part to solve the climate crisis. Until that happens, coal cannot be called ‘clean’.”
Last week Bank of America announced that it will phase out funding of companies that practice mountaintop removal coal mining.
If you haven’t seen the NO Clean Coal commercial, take a look:
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It would be preferable, however, that the Federal government lead by example rather than mandate choices. Already our tax structure (ie gas taxes, corporate incentives) tilt the playing field towards companies and individuals making poor choices. I think the Federal Government could do their best to remove biases that lead to poor choices.