Gore, environmental groups start TV ads to remind Americans that 'clean coal' remains only a concept

"The phrase 'clean coal' was repeated by virtually every major presidential candidate this year," writes Steven Mufson of The Washington Post. "Now the battle over what it means is heating up," with a television advertising campaign to counter long-running ads from the coal industry and electric utilities that burn coal. The ads are being financed by former Vice President Al Gore and organizations such as Sierra Club, the Natural Resources Defense Council and the National Wildlife Federation.

The ads, one of which will run on this weekend's TV talk shows, note that the concept of "clean coal," removing pollutants including carbon dioxide from power-plant emissions, has not been commercially proven. "The ad battle is part of a fight over the future of coal plants, which has been thrown into doubt by Supreme Court and Environmental Protection Agency rulings about carbon dioxide being subject to regulation under the Clean Air Act," Mufson reports. "Environmentalists say that it will be difficult, if not impossible, to retrofit plants with carbon-capture equipment once they're built. But coal industry advocates hold out hope." (Read more)