Coal — The new Joe Camel?
The coal industry just released their newest ad campaign to make coal appear "cool." It looks remarkably familiar. Are they kidding?
Joe Camel |
Cool "Clean" Coal |
|---|---|
| Tobacco industry’s spin campaign from more than 15 years ago | New spin campaign from coal industry (full-page ad in the Washington Post on January 13) |
| Used in an attempt to distract the public from the facts about tobacco | Used to distract the public from the facts about so-called "clean" coal |
| A camel that smokes and wears sunglasses — really? | Burning coal is the dirtiest way we produce electricity. Putting a pair of sunglasses on a lump of coal doesn't change that. |
| There is no such thing as a healthy cigarette. | There is no such thing as "clean" coal. And "cool"? Come on. |
As part of their ongoing multi-million dollar effort to market the illusion, the coal industry is at it again with a full-page ad from a big coal company (Peabody Energy) that is marketing so-called "clean" coal as “cool.” In reality there is no such thing as "clean" coal.
Here are the facts:
New coal industry ad: "Part One of clean coal has taken place in recent years, as billions of dollars in new technologies scrub away emissions."
The Reality: Burning coal is the dirtiest way we generate electricity. While federal regulations have required coal plants to reduce some pollutants, the industry has not prevented a single pound of CO2 emissions from entering the atmosphere.
New coal industry ad: "America has more coal than any nation...The more we use it, the less we need to rely on foreign energy."
The Reality: America's most abundant energy resources are the sun and wind, which are limitless and free. The more we use those, the less we need to rely on foreign energy, carbon-polluting energy, or costly fuels.
New coal industry ad: "Eventually, carbon capture and storage will allow plants to recycle the CO2 back underground in deep storage or even oil fields, increasing US oil production..."
The Reality: Eventually perhaps. But there are roughly 600 coal plants producing electricity in the U.S. and not one of them captures and stores its global warming pollution.
The coal industry needs to stop the marketing charade and step up in a real way to finally clean up its act. The dirty coal of today cannot be part of a clean energy future.
Join our Reality Corps and help make sure the misleading myths about coal don’t go unanswered.
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We need to make sure people hear the reality about coal today. Forward this page to a friend and post it to your favorite blog.
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Join our Reality Corps and help make sure the misleading myths about coal don’t go unanswered.
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We need to make sure people hear the reality about coal today. Forward this page to a friend and post it to your favorite blog.