Coal Industry Spent Tens of Millions On Marketing ‘Clean Coal’

Coal industry magnates, who stand to lose big if new pollution standards become law, reportedly spent between $35 million and $45 million on advertising this year pitching “clean coal” as a new environmentally friendly fuel, Washington Times reports.

Dan Weiss, who co-authored the study on how much the coal industry spent on advertising and lobbying for clean coal compared with how much they spent on research, estimates that for every $17 members of the American Coalition for Clean Coal Energy earned in profits in 2007, they spent $1 on researching carbon reduction technologies.
Critics of “clean coal” say the concept is somewhat ambiguous because it involves carbon reduction technologies that are still 10-15 years from being built for American plants.

“They spend very little in research and spend a lot of money in trying to convince people not to make them do anything,” said Weiss on a conference call with reporters. “The hypocrisy comes in when you look at what they’re actually doing.”

Environmental Leader