From (the utterly invaluable) PRWatch.Org: In yet another example of the government-industry revolving door, "Peabody Energy, the world's largest private sector coal company, has hired Dick Gephardt's firm to spearhead its drive to defeat efforts by Democrats to put caps on carbon emissions in a bid to combat global warming," reports O'Dwyer's. (Source: http://www.odwyerpr.com/members/0323gephardt_carbon.htm
Gephardt, a Democrat and the former U.S. House Majority Leader, will advocate for increased public funding of "clean coal technologies."
Peabody's coal generators produce 10 percent of U.S. electricity. The company says "clean coal" research will help achieve the "ultimate goal of near-zero emissions from coal." Peabody's corporate social responsibility report calls mandatory caps on emissions "irresponsible, contributing to adverse health impacts and economic harm through the loss of affordable electricity."
(Image: DIGGING THE LAND: The Big Sky Mine, run by the world’s largest coal company, Peabody Energy, stripped about 2.5 million tons of coal in 2001 a few miles north of the reservation, and shipped it by rail to the Minnesota Power company. foto: Larry Mayer)
1 comment:
Jeesus h. christer. "Clean coal" can only come about through carbon capture and sequestration, and you can fund CCS technology two ways:
1. via the guv, with huge subsidies, or
2. by creating a carbon cap and trade system, with prices floating around $30 (Canadian) a tonne. At that price, you get private industry doing the research into geologic formations, etc.
In other words, you don't get "clean coal" without carbon caps, unless you expect the government to fund the entire industry.
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