The Reality Blog

Scare Tactics

The coal industry knows that dramatic changes are imminent for America’s energy policy, but that hasn’t dissuaded them from their latest effort to sow doubt and fear about any change that involves burning less dirty coal.

One of the industry’s current distortions is the Green Jobs Bogeyman — that somehow massive new investments in clean energy won’t result in tremendous new job growth. Riiiiight.

In a recent blog post, the coal industry cites a dubious Spanish study, (its details, methods and the author’s objectivity — including his links to Exxon Mobile — were all called into question by the Wall Street Journal,) to scare us into thinking WHAT IF these new investments don’t produce new jobs and lower energy prices. MAYBE we should just keep on burning dirty coal and not try to make any new progress.

Here’s the Reality:

• Clean energy is one of the few bright spots in our economy. Growth in clean energy is already getting Americans back to work.

• A recent study by the Union of Concerned Scientists finds that the direct benefits of increasing renewable energy production to 25% by 2050 will include hundreds of thousands of new jobs and $64.3 billion in lower energy bills.

• The wind, sun and other renewable sources are free and limitless.

• Our current system leaves coal unaccountable for the catastrophically high costs of its global warming pollution and leaves us, not the coal industry, to pay for those costs.

There’s nothing scary about an economic recovery powered by truly clean energy, so the coal industry has to manufacture doubt and fear. This type of scare tactic is the very definition of protecting the status quo.

Coal is one of the industries that is most responsible for global warming pollution in America. Now that we are finally on the verge of revitalizing our economy at the same time we hold them accountable for the cost of their pollution and reduce the amount of dirty coal we burn, they want to scare us into doing nothing at all.

These distortions and scare tactics don’t change Reality: continuing to burn dirty coal is the scariest thing we can do.

Michigan getting Real about coal

Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm is getting real about burning less coal.

In her State of the State address earlier this month, she called for dramatic reductions in the state’s use of electric power from coal — to be replaced by a serious investment in energy efficiency efforts, and development of Michigan’s renewable energy sources:

[Governor Granholm] said she wants to see 100,000 homes and 1,000 schools in the state weatherized to reduce energy consumption, and get more homes and schools to install solar and wind energy systems.

She suggested the monthly savings would pay for the cost of the improvements.

These large-scale weatherization and efficiency efforts can help put people back to work in a clean energy economy. So, job creation and monthly savings that pay for themselves? Sounds great.

There’s another bonus from advancements in efficiency and clean energy in Michigan:

Michigan’s 19 coal-fired plants emit approximately 70 million tons of greenhouse gas emissions a year, or 40 percent of the state’s total carbon dioxide emissions.

Read the full article.