Coal is NOT Clean.
Coal IS Dirty!

Introducing the Clean Coal Body Slam.  Kevin Grandia of DeSmogBlog has put together an amazing team with a clear (not clean) agenda:

For a while now,
whenever I mentioned the term "clean coal" people would roll their eyes and groan, "clean coal," usually followed by a rolling of the eyes or a mock gagging, eyes bulging expression. Most people know coal isn't clean, but that hasn't stopped the coal industry from trying to convince us otherwise.

"Almost heaven, West Virginia ..."  An anthem immediately recognizable to millions.  Yet, an anthem under ever mounting threat.   West Virginia, as with much of the world, faces a clear choice between an ever-dirtier fossil fuel path and moving toward a prosperous, climate friendly economy.

While this is a global challenge, in West Virginia the choices are quite stark and, well, quite immediate:

• Mountaintop removal (MTR)  or

• Wind farms on the tops of mountain ridges and within valleys
  

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In Collapse Is Latest Fight for Coal's Best Friend, the Washington Post gave front-page prominence to Robert Murray, CEO of Murray Energy which co-owns the Crandall Canyon mine where rescue workers desperately seek to rescue the trapped miners.

Murray has coal in his blood and has worked his way up the ladder to be CEO (and owner) of a $260+ million/year corporation.  

And, he is a battler, sadly for the wrong causes.

Energize America is chock full o' cool.   There are great ideas in the plan to expand solar, wind, and other renewable sources.  There's support for much improved conservation, and there are R&D targets that could take us to the next generation of clean power and keen cars.

However, this is the part that's...eh, not so sexy.  But it's important.

In a plan that's all about making sure America has all the energy it needs for the future, this is one part of the plan that's about putting restrictions on an existing domestic energy resource.

This is where we outlaw mountaintop removal coal mining.