As the world shifts its ideological views from cheaper to greener, how do the folks running the coal industry, possibly the dirtiest business in the world, react? Do they clean up their product? Do they produce cleaner energies? Or maybe even donate money to an environmental foundation? Of course not.
Instead, the American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity (ACCCE) spent a staggering $45 million last year on their “America’s Power” campaign, which many believe is a deception touting the benefits of so-called “clean coal.” And if that weren’t enough, the coal and electric industries spent a jaw-dropping $125 million lobbying against federal legislation promoting clean energy and a cap on global warming pollution.
As these industries spend millions running ads implying that carbon capture and storage (CCS) is here or just around the corner, the industry refuses to spend much of anything to turn its overheated rhetoric into reality. And it’s not for lack of funds. The 48 companies that make up the ACCCE front group earned a combined $57 billion in profits in 2007 alone, yet over a period of several years they have invested just $3.5 billion in research into CCS.
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