Environmental Groups Counter Industry’s "Clean Coal" Campaign

A group of environmental organizations are launching an advertising blitz to challenge the concept of “clean coal,” in a multi-million dollar effort to counter the energy industry’s $15 million campaign to clean up coal’s reputation. The groups, including the Sierra Club and the Natural Resources Defense Council, will buy television, newspaper and outdoor ads that will include the slogan, “In reality, there is no such thing as ‘clean coal.’” In one 30-second television spot, which will be shown during weekend news talk shows, a voice says, “There isn’t a single commercial coal power plant in America today that captures its global warming pollution.” The campaign follows a year-long effort by the American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity to put a cleaner face on coal, including a flurry of ads during the national political conventions this summer touting coal as the nation’s energy solution. It also comes as industry and environmental interests battle over the future of coal plants and whether carbon dioxide should be subject to regulation under the Clean Air Act.