Resentment Grows Over Waylon’s ‘Coal Is Cool’ Ads

Readers in the US may have noticed a concerted effort by the dodgy-titled ‘Americans for Balanced Energy Choices‘ to persuade us that coal is actually our future and it would be very unpatriotic to think otherwise. The TV ad was can be seen here - and were created by Saint Louis ad agency Waylon. Treehugger rips into the ads:

The full page ad in the New York Times placed by “Americans for Balanced Energy Choices” says “Our commitment goes beyond clean.”

Then they say “Through a $50 Billion investment in new clean coal technologies, today’s coal based generating fleet is already 70% cleaner based on regulated emissions per unit of energy produced.” It’s probably true; coal plants are a lot more efficient and cleaner than they were in the seventies, when trees were dying and lakes were turning to vinegar.

The key word is regulated. Since the seventies, utilities have been forced to install pollution controls or switch to low sulfur coal to reduce smog and acid rain. Their own site says “The calculations are based on five pollutants: carbon monoxide, volatile organic compounds, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxide and particulate matter.” Carbon Dioxide is not a regulated emission, so they can all but ignore it… The ad people must have spent hours on the last line:

“Our commitment to clean is matched by a commitment to keep energy costs affordable and to protect our security by using our abundant domestic coal reserves to meet America’s growing energy needs.”

Cheap, secure, local fuel and lots of it! Just don’t mention that climate change thing.

More reasons to hate the advertising industry this morning. The ABEC move is probably be a reaction to increased vigilance over the coal industry’s moves. Worldchanging reports that US gov agencies are refusing the build of new coal fired plants based on their carbon-dioxide emissions:

For the first time, a U.S. government agency has cited carbon dioxide emissions as the reason for rejecting an air-quality permit to build coal-fired power plants. Roderick Bremby, secretary of the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE), explained his October 18 decision saying, “I believe it would be irresponsible to ignore emerging information about the contribution of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases to climate change and the potential harm to our environment and health if we do nothing.”

Greenwash Watch: AmericasPower (TreeHugger) (with apologies for such a long extract - but we wanted to make a point)
Momentum Building Against U.S. Coal-Fired Power Plants