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."
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.
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.
