Clean Coal is the latest marketing farse courtesy of the ACCCE

Coal companies obviously have a rock solid source of income, and it’s fueled by steady demand from a worldwide energy-consuming population. With resources like that it might make sense for them to invest in methods to reduce their negative impact on the environment, but instead they’ve decided to pump millions of dollars into an abject marketing campaign. Realizing the potential for bad publicity, the coal industry has formed the American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity (ACCCE) to do its dirty work.

Of course, that’s not to say that eventually we could see some sort of successful clean coal technology, probably not until 2030. The fundamental problem here is a focus by the coal industry on preserving its existing business practices instead of developing new, more renewable methods of generating electricity.

Phone companies did the same thing when they strove to keep a monopoly in place that encouraged high prices and limited options for consumers. The music industry did this too, spewing cash into a string of lawsuits against its own customers who were actively looking for a better way to get their music digitally! Instead of innovating they strove to preserve old business models. More recently, the inability to adapt has crippled GM an Ford, as they continued to sink money into their cash cow SUV and Truck vehicles despite an outcry for more fuel efficient vehicles. Toyota stepped in with the Prius and stole the spotlight in what seems like an overnight heist.

But maybe the coal industry isn’t paying attention to those examples, especially with its cash cow still producing plenty of milk. Consider though, that clean coal is only hot air in America.

The coal industry is spending millions advertising "clean" coal, but not a single "clean" coal power plant exists in the U.S. today, according to the Wall Street Journal.

The backlash is obvious online, just try a search on YouTube for clean coal. Almost every hit on the front page is slamming clean coal. Here’s a video from ThisIsReality.org that puts things into perspective: