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The Reality Coalition, set up by five environmental orgs to debunk the notion that there is such a thing as "clean coal," is introducing a new ad spot directed by the Coen Brothers, to be introduced in broadcast and online media today... But even President Obama mentioned clean coal in his speech before Congress on Tuesday...

A BBC story begins to put Barack Obama's energy dilemma into perspective: As environment ministers from all over the world prepare for negotiations on climate change at Poznan in Poland this week, all eyes are on the future president of the United States. Barack Obama has pledged to overturn George Bush's policies by pushing for deep cuts in greenhouse gas emissions. But he inherits an energy system dependent on a heavily polluting fuel - coal. The question absolutely BEGS to be asked: "Why is our energy system so heavily dependent on coal?" The answer should have a profound impact on...

About the Reality Campaign In reality, there is no such thing as "clean" coal in America today. Coal cannot be called 'clean' until its CO2 emissions are captured and stored safely. Let's be clear: there are no US homes, factories, shopping centers or churches powered by coal plants that capture and store their global warming pollution. Today, coal power plants emit carbon dioxide (CO2), the pollutant causing the climate crisis. A third of the America's carbon pollution now comes from about 600 coal-fired power plants. And of the more than 70 proposed new coal power plants, barely a handful have...

ScienceDaily (Nov. 19, 2008) — Construction of new coal-fired power plants in the United States is in danger of coming to a standstill, partly due to the high cost of the requirement — whether existing or anticipated — to capture all emissions of carbon dioxide, an important greenhouse gas. But an MIT analysis suggests an intermediate step that could get construction moving again, allowing the nation to fend off growing electricity shortages using our most-abundant, least-expensive fuel while also reducing emissions.

A Chinese inventor says he can make coal clean and superefficient. Should we believe him? [...] Teased by blue skies and clear, starry nights during the Olympics, Beijingers will soon find themselves choking on the harsh reality of coal heat in a crowded city. With Olympic restrictions lifted, the cars are back on the road and the factories are running at full throttle. As winter sets in, the residential boilers of northern China will fire up, blanketing the ground with black soot. Wang Yongjiang thinks he can help clear the air. The 58-year-old entrepreneur has invented a boiler, currently in...

Steve Helber/Associated Press Democratic vice presidential candidate Sen. Joe Biden, D-Del. speaks during a rally at the Woodbridge Community Center in Woodbridge, Va., yesterday. Republicans yesterday criticized Democratic vice-presidential candidate Joseph R. Biden Jr. over an overheard comment at odds with Illinois Sen. Barack Obama's campaign pledge to support the development of clean coal plants in the United States. In the remarks, circulated on YouTube, the Delaware senator seems to reject the idea of building new coal-fired plants domestically, while suggesting that clean-coal technology, a goal that both campaigns have promised billions of dollars to develop, should be used to...

Audio Unearthed ATTN: Coal states Virginia , Ohio, Pennsylvania, Colorado, Indiana and more guess what Obama told San Francisco about you. San Francisco Gate Interview January 17 2008

Republican vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin unleashed a new volley against Barack Obama on a four-city tour of Ohio on Sunday by touting newly released audio comments made by the Democratic presidential candidate promising to restrict the construction of new coal-fired power plants in the U.S. The issue is particularly sensitive in coal-rich Ohio, West Virginia, and Colorado. Obama made the comments to the San Francisco Chronicle in January, which were posted on YouTube over the weekend. Obama said that under his proposal to cap greenhouse gases, energy suppliers would get incentives to develop technologies to reduce pollution and to use...

Here is a new McCain Web Ad that goes after the conflicting positions of Barack Obama and his running mate Joe Biden on clean coal technology. . . . (see video at link)

-snip- In fact, the declaration of 1.7 million Utah acres as a national monument, thereby depriving an energy-starved U.S. up to 62 billion tons of environmentally safe low-sulfur coal worth $1.2 trillion and minable with minimal surface impact, was a political payoff to the family of James Riady. He's the son of Lippo Group owner Mochtar Riady. James was found guilty of — and paid a multimillion dollar fine for — funneling more than $1 million in illegal political contributions through Lippo Bank into various American political campaigns, including Bill Clinton's presidential run in 1992. Clinton took off the world...

Some great rope line video from Joe Biden's recent Ohio swing, where he was asked by an anti-pollution campaigner about clean coal -- a controversial approach in Democratic circles for which Obama has voiced support, particularly during the Kentucky primary. Biden's apparent answer: He supports clean coal for China, but not for the United States. "No coal plants here in America," he said. "Build them, if they're going to build them, over there. Make them clean." "We’re not supporting clean coal," he said of himself and Obama who do, on paper, support clean coal.

New projects offer the chance to tap inaccessible reserves, as well as limit the release of harmful gases BEIJING -- India and China are at the forefront of a new wave in clean-coal technology that has the potential to tap enormous and otherwise inaccessible coal reserves -- and to slow the speed of climate change. The Asian giants are investigating large-scale commercial projects that would produce energy by burning the coal where it lies, deep below the Earth's surface. Building on pilot projects in the U.S. and elsewhere, the two countries are also looking at the possibility of capturing and...

WASHINGTON — For years, scientists have had a straightforward idea for taming global warming. They want to take the carbon dioxide that spews from coal-burning power plants and pump it back into the ground. President Bush is for it, and indeed has spent years talking up the virtues of “clean coal.” All three candidates to succeed him favor the approach. So do many other members of Congress. Coal companies are for it. Many environmentalists favor it. Utility executives are practically begging for the technology. But it has become clear in recent months that the nation’s effort to develop the technique...

In this article, the ITSSD examines whether the Western Governors' Clean Energy Plan, which is intended to terminate the phantom menace known as global warming, is actually another back-door’ environmental regulatory ‘takings’ regime that will benefit some at the expense of others.

QUID PRO COAL2: CLINTON CORRUPTION + THE SEQUESTRATION OF GASEOUS FOSSILS(HILLARY DOES COAL AT THE NATIONAL PRESS CLUB) by Mia T, 4.27.06 But we have to deal with coal, because we have huge resources of coal. Coal is to us what oil is to Saudi Arabia. And part of our domestic strategy must involve coal. But unless we learn to burn it cleanly, the price of independence from imported oil by using coal will be accelerated global warming. Even if the United States never burned another lump of coal, China is bringing on-line a 1,000 megawatt coal-fired power plant...

Now that the dust is starting to settle and the smoke starting to clear and all those in the effected area who want help are getting it after Katrina, there is something very important that needs to be tackled for the future of the country’s stability. And it needs to be dealt with now. Should have years ago but a Democrat minority killed it. The tree huggers have put us in this position that has us all paying almost $3.00 or more for regular unleaded. And it’s no one’s fault BUT theirs. I want clean air and water too. And...

For education and discussion only. Not for commercial use. Sometimes amazing things come together right before our eyes -- if we take the time to see them. "Miracle," the hit movie about the 1980 US Olympic Hockey Team that suddenly galvanized our country, including the large number of those of us who are not hockey fans, currently is bringing this to light. But Pennsylvania is poised for a miracle of its own. And, as in the movie, with the right focus and dedication, we can achieve spectacular results. The miracle I'm talking about is related to renewable energy resources. For...