Coal Companies Spend Staggering Revenue on Advertising, Not Cleaner Technology or Safety

If there was any remaining doubt that coal is about the farthest possible thing from clean, it was dispelled by the disastrous coal sludge spill in Tennessee that happened over the holidays.  The spill destroyed houses and has covered a swath of rural Tennessee in over a billion gallons of toxic coal sludge. It has not only exposed the oft-hidden dangers of the coal industry, but also the lax government oversight of one of our country’s dirtiest industries.

A new Center for American Progress report showed that the coal industry's infamous front group, the American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity, spent a staggering $45 million last year on its deceptive "America's Power" campaign touting the benefits of so-called "clean coal." In addition, the coal and electric utility industries spent a jaw-dropping $125 million in the first 9 months of last year lobbying against federal legislation promoting clean energy and a cap on global warming pollution.