Co-authored by Alex Tinker and Jenny Bedell-Stiles
West Virginia, Thursday, March 20th: “We could be investing in renewable sources of energy, and in clean coal technology, and creating up to 5 million new green jobs in the bargain, including new clean coal jobs.”
Presidential candidate Barack Obama’s words yesterday were as hard to swallow as the sulfur dioxide rich output of dirty coal-fired power plants. The clean coal mythology must be stopped. Coal isn’t clean, it isn’t green and it has no place in the renewable-energy future we must rapidly make into a renewable-energy present if we are to avoid the worst-case scenarios of global warming.
Today, Friday March 21st, he made no mention of this fuel to thousands in Portland, Oregon. He talked about the clean energy revolution. He gave an anti-nuke shout out (to our aging hippies). He touched on cap and trade. He even talked about green jobs revitalizing our economy.
There was no mention of deriving green jobs from clean coal. Sure, it’s common (and savvy) for our political leaders to alter their message by location. But we, the climate positive movement, are a united and connected force and we’re listening to the differences in message Barack is sending us. While not contradictory, he’s telling folks from each region what we want to hear.
This morning, Barack said that as president, he would tell the American people what we need to hear, and not just what we want to hear. Barack, as the next president of the United States, you need to start telling us that we must wean ourselves off of coal.
Coal has a powerful lobby in Washington, and there are important general election states with substantial coal industries. The climate movement needs to think long and hard about what would become of all those coal families if we got our coal moratorium.
Articulating the vision of an inclusive green economy to the people who stand to lose the most from the necessary changes is critical to the success of this movement. Articulating to the new President in 2009 our firm demand for aggressive action to tackle climate change is critical to the survival of the human race.
Tell the Obama campaign what renewable energy really is.
Update November 3 2008: Barack Obama is on the cusp of becoming our next president. His stance on clean coal has not swayed since these March rallies. Obama has spoken of both the need for clean coal, and the need for a clean energy economy and climate change solutions. (If and) when the rubber hits the road and Obama ushers in his new administration, there is hope that Obama’s commitment to climate solutions will trump his commitment to coal, as evidenced by recent remarks to the San Francisco Chronicle:
“So if somebody wants to build a coal-powered plant, they can; it’s just that it will bankrupt them because they’re going to be charged a huge sum for all that greenhouse gas that’s being emitted.”
The blogosphere is buzzing with pro-coal attacks on Obama’s statement. You can see remarks on it from one of this piece’s authors here.
It’s for this, and many other reasons, that progressives are becoming disturbed by Barack Obama. He may not be the progressive people thought he was. Consider the FISA Amendments Act, Donnie McClurkin, opposition to full marriage rights, Obama’s plan to expand faith-based initiatives…
The person who wrote this needs to turn off everything in their house and walk to work because coal had alot to do with those things. COAL IS 50% ELECTRICITY!!!!!!!! Coal is used to form vehicles’ shape. Coal is used to heat peoples houses. And coal can be used for gas which means when they do that gas wont be so high and we wont have to buy gas from people who hate us. Coal is everywhere, it does make the lights come on and it definately makes your computer turn on and I suggest the ignorant person who wrote this to turn theirs off ( And all the lights and to walk to work).. Your cell phone even uses electricity. I think people are going waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyy overboard with global warming, its not as bad as you think it is. You guys are like my dad when i was little he told us not to download anything on the computer because it brings viruses. But thats the only way to get things on your computer. RIGHT NOW and for a while coal is going to 50% electricity if not more. Plus its use for other things. Even jewelry.. what i am saying is that coal is the way 50% of electricity ++ and its right here in the USA. People who dont like coal and go live in the amish country OH WAIT they might use coal to warm their houses.. See what I mean??
I appreciate your comments, but you are wrong.
I live in Oregon, where we get almost none of our electricity from coal. My house and my workplace, in fact, get 100% of their electricity from renewable sources – wind, hydro, and low emissions biomass. I take a bus to work, which runs on a bio-diesel blend. My computer, cell phone, lights, and everything else I use that consumes electricity is powered without coal. True, the manufacture of all the products I use required using coal-produced electricity. I never claimed we could have gotten to where we are today without coal.
The fact that we get 50% of our electricity from coal is no excuse to build more coal-burning power plants.
Science is hard to argue with. If you believe the physics that enables us to burn coal to make electricity, you have to believe the physics that says carbon emissions are heating the planet at a catastrophic rate. Not a single peer-reviewed scientific journal has published anything to the contrary.
Cutting coal completely out of the picture immediately is impractical, and maybe impossible. That said, it is critical for the survival of human civilization that we phase out our use of coal-fired plants that do not sequester their carbon emissions.
If you don’t believe in global warming, that’s your prerogative. However, it is not your right to destroy my future and the future of all generations to come. The only thing that makes me more mad than the fact that the old guard in power now is keeping us from stopping global warming is that you probably won’t be alive when the worst consequences are felt, so I won’t have the chance to say “I told you so.”
Obama will bankrupt the coal companies. How do you feel about 300% increase in your electric rates ?
Johnny,
I would feel great about a 300% increase in my electric rates — if I got a check back each year representing my share of the revenue generated by the carbon permit auction revenues.
The kind of policy Senator Obama is talking about would increase energy prices – but for 60% of American households, the dividend check would more than offset the increased costs, INCREASING net household income.
The people who would end up paying more each year are those who use excessive amounts of electricity. Right now, we (all inhabitants of the planet) are paying for their pollution in the form of reduced air quality, increasing global temperature which will lead to reduced food production, a reduction in water supply, and possible all out chaos.
How would you like to have more money in your pocket at the end of the year, and not see the planet go to hell?
Great quality stuff.
The kind of policy Senator Obama is talking about would increase energy prices – but for 60% of American households, the dividend check would more than offset the increased costs, INCREASING net household income.