Recent comments have been attributed to Senator Obama regarding the implementation of a cap and trade system for carbon dioxide emissions, that could "bankrupt" the coal industry or those who plan to build coal-fueled generation plants.
As a non-partisan organization, the American Coal Council does not take positions on the outcome of the election. Nor do we lobby for the implementation of specific policies or legislation.
It is extremely important, however, for both candidates to recognize the value and stability that the coal industry provides for our economy. "Bankrupting" the source of half of our electrical power would have profound negative economic, social, and environmental impacts.
Coal currently provides half of our domestic electricity supply. It does so at rates well below most other competing energy sources. "Bankrupting" one of our nation's most abundant and affordable, energy resources would cause rapid increases in energy costs for main street and our nation's businesses. Additionally, tens of thousands of jobs would be lost in our mining, utility, and related service industries.
The ACC believes that this issue points to the continuing need to educate policy makers on the pivitol role that coal plays in our economy.
The ACC would like to encourage its members to get out and vote on November 4th.
Mine the Vote
We also encourage our members to consider reviewing the information on the NMAs Mine the Vote website before they vote. The site has has a great deal of important information on both the presidential and local races.
We will not offer names or parties of people for who you should vote, but we will encourage you to support candidates that have a track record of (or who have committed to) supporting mining, railroads, our ports and terminals, the inland waterways, and -- of course -- our nation's coal industry.
Remember that without coal, we're spending 12 hours or more every day in the dark and our electricity bills are going way up.
We need you to make sure your voice is heard because as the NMA has rightly noted, EVERY VOTE COUNTS.
Mining Matters
The American Coalition for Clean Coal Energy has released their latest radio ad that discusses the concerns and interests of American voters.
You can see their other ads on the ACCCE website.
According to this Wonk Room (Think Progress) blog posting, Senator and Democratic Vice Presidential candidate, Joe Biden, stated -- at a September 17, 2008 campaign stop -- that the Obama campaign was "not supporting clean coal."
That comment came when Biden answered a question from an environmental activist in the crowd about energy options for the country. In response, he clearly stated his strong support of renewable energy technologies like solar and wind and then moved on to attack coal as "dirty" and claimed it was "causing people to die." He made it abundantly clear that he was "not supporting clean coal."
Questioner: Senator ... Senator ... wind and solar are flourishing here in Ohio, so why are you supporting clean coal?
Biden: Sorry I didn't hear what you said.
Questioner: Wind and solar are flourishing here in Ohio, so why are you supporting clean coal?
Biden: We're not supporting clean coal. Guess what. China's building two ... every week ... two dirty coal plants. And it's polluting the United States. It's causing people to die.
Questioner: So will you support wind and solar over all these other technologies?
Biden: Absolutely! Before anybody did. The first guy to introduce a global warming bill was me, 22 years ago. The first guy to support solar energy was me, 26 years ago. It came out of Delaware. But guess what. China's gonna burn 300 years of bad coal unless we figure out how to clean their coal up, because it's gonna ruin your lungs, and there's nothing we can do about it. No coal plants here in America. Build them, if they're gonna build them, over there. Make 'em clean, because you're killing you."
The Senator's response to coal is not surprising, however. We have reported on the Coalblog how Biden has repeatedly attacked coal-based energy, claiming that it was more dangerous to the country than terrorism.
His comments also mirror comments that he made in a Grist interview in August 2007.
Grist: What role does "clean coal" play in your vision for energy independence and climate security?
Biden: I don't think there's much of a role for clean coal in energy independence, but I do think there's a significant role for clean coal in the bigger picture of climate change. Clean-coal technology is not the route to go in the United States, because we have other, cleaner alternatives. But I would invest a considerable amount of money in research and development of clean-coal and carbon-sequestration technologies for export. China is building one new coal-fired plant per week. That's not going to change unless there's a fundamental change in technology, because they have about 300 years of dirty coal, and they're going to use it.
Grist: Would you impose a moratorium on the development of old-style coal power plants in the U.S.?
Biden: I believe that all new coal-fired power plants should be built with carbon capture and sequestration capacity.
Grist: What's your position on liquefied coal?
Biden: Again, I don't think it's the way to go in the U.S., but we could invest in technologies for export. I don't think there's any reasonable prospect that China, as it continues to grow to 1.4 billion people, is not going to use their coal.
Coal industry members could be excused for minor confusion over Biden's exact feelings about the coal industry as he claimed to be a "hard coal miner" last Saturday while speaking at a United Mine Workers fish fry in Virginia.
In his first visit to Southwest Virginia, Democratic vice presidential nominee Joe Biden, speaking at the United Mine Workers’ annual fish fry here on Saturday, was quick to tout his ties to coal.
“I hope you won’t hold it against me, but I am a hard-coal miner, anthracite coal, Scranton, Pa.,” Biden said. “It’s nice to be back in coal country. … It’s a different accent [in Southwest Virginia] … but it’s the same deal. ...
He promised Democrats would bring ... investment in clean-coal and liquid-coal technologies. ...
Asked whether Obama is truly a friend of coal, Eastern Coal Council Executive Director Barbara Altizer said Obama did support a clean-coal research facility.
“I think he’s maybe not as good a friend as we’d like to have, but I think all of the candidates will have to support clean-coal technology,” Altizer said. “I keep hoping whoever gets the election, they’ll have the opportunity to learn about coal and they’ll be a good friend.”
On the issue of helping the candidates learn the value of our coal resource, we would echo the urgings of the National Mining Association in an email today. That email encouraged Americans to "tell Senator Biden He's Wrong on Coal."
The American coal industry is a vital component of our economy. It provides half of the electricity that Americans use each day and the energy it provides is both clean and affordable. It also provides tens of thousands of high-poaying careers for working families across the country.
The American Coal Council agrees with the sentiments expressed in the NMA's email,
Call or write Sen. Biden and show your support for coal and urge him to support clean and affordable energy and support the thousands of working families across the country who depend on high-paying coal jobs.
Tell Sen. Biden:Write to Sen. Biden by e-mailing him at: http://my.barackobama.com/page/s/contact2.
- You can't be against coal and be for affordable electricity for American households.
- You can't be against coal and be for U.S. energy security.
- You can't be against clean coal technologies and be for effective climate change solutions.
- You can't be against coal and be for the 120,000 American coal workers and their families.
You can also post a message through the campaign's blog at:
http://my.barackobama.com/page/content/hqblog.
As part of his campaign platform, Republican Presidential nominee, John McCain is calling for a variety of measures aimed at increasing domestic energy production and reducing American dependence on foreign energy resources.
Alongside of his calls for ending the federal moratorium on drilling for offshore oil reserves and expanding the royalty sharing agreements with states, McCain is also calling for the construction of 45 new nuclear reactors by 2030. McCain further proposed to provide $2 billion per year in funding to aid in the development of clean coal technologies.
The Republican presidential contender said Missouri gets about 85 percent of its electricity from coal, an abundant natural resource in the U.S.
"Perhaps no advancement in energy technology could mean more to America than the clean burning of coal and the capture and storage of carbon emissions," he said.
With the $2 billion in federal funds, he said, "We will build the demonstration plants, refine the techniques and equipment, and make clean coal a reality. This single achievement will open vast amounts of our oldest and most abundant resource. And it will deliver not only electricity but jobs to some of the areas hardest hit by our economic troubles."
Energy advisors for the three presidential candidates spoke at a May 23rd energy forum hosted by the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, DC. During the forum, they related their candidate's plans for energy development and environmental protection.
While they agreed that the issues are closely related, the three presidential campaign advisors spoke more about the environment than about energy. Tallent said that she was taking care not to say much about energy because McCain plans to do "a fairly massive energy rollout" within the next few weeks. But she added that the Arizona Republican's stance on climate change has been stronger "than many other members of his party, including the current administration, to be frank."
McCain proposes returning US carbon emissions to 2005 levels by 2012 and to 1990 levels by 2020, she continued. "He believes that a cap-and-trade system must harness human ingenuity in pursuit of market-based alternatives to carbon-based fuels. He also believes that an effective climate policy must support rapid, sustained economic growth. This probably will be a key issue in the upcoming debates," Tallent said.
Clinton considers heavy US dependence on foreign oil and global climate change to be two of the biggest issues in the 2008 presidential campaign, according to Utech. She would back a repeal of tax breaks for major oil companies and support a basic cap-and-trade framework similar to Obama's and McCain's, he said.
Her approach differs from the other two candidates by using complementary programs in other areas to achieve climate change goals, the advisor said. For example, she thinks a national Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) could keep carbon allowance trading from producing windfall profits for some companies, he indicated.
Obama's climate plan includes a cap-and-trade program with auctions, an 80% reduction in carbon emissions by 2050, a low-carbon fuel standard, a 25% RPS by 2005, a ban on new coal-fired power plants using traditional designs, support of verifiable international offsets and emissions reporting, an effort to reduce deforestation, and re-engagement with other countries in efforts to reduce global warming, Holstein said. (emphasis added)
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