A Clean Coal Confrontation

Oxymoron or goal within reach? Industry and environmentalists get down and sooty.

On the campaign trail, President Obama embraced the coal industry’s vision of “clean coal” technology. But even before he took office, a coalition of environmental groups (including Al Gore’s) launched ads ridiculing the idea as a myth: “In reality, there’s no such thing as clean coal.”

We’re sure to hear more of this debate in coming months. Burning coal creates large quantities of carbon dioxide, the most prevalent of the “greenhouse gases” that scientists say is heating up the planet and Obama has said he wants to reduce.

Is “clean coal” possible? Our answer: Probably, though it would come with a big price tag.

In our Analysis section, we try to shed a little light on the subject.

Newsweek