BIG COAL IS LOSING GROUND AND MOUNTAINTOPS (Sorry Charlie Wilson!!!!)

[Rick Rowlands]

Another way to look at it is that coal provides nearly half of the nation's power, and by adding up ALL of the other sources you get the other half.   

[irishbobcat]

BIG COAL IS LOSING GROUND AND MOUNTAINTOPS (Sorry Charlie Wilson!!!!)

We last wrote to tell you that Big Coal is freaking out, resorting to desperate measures to try and keep mountaintop removal coal mining alive.

The reason the coal industry is acting so strange becomes clear when one understands that for the past several years, the importance of coal in our national electricity generation has declined at a staggering rate.

The latest government statistics show just how far coal's importance has fallen: in May of 2009, coal provided a mere 42.6% of electricity generation in the United States. For the year to date (January-May 2009), coal produced just 45.4% of our electricity.  Furthermore, wind and solar have never been higher, and are still growing exponentially.

Such trends are promising for those of us who love mountains and who are fighting for a clean energy future for Appalachia and the rest of America.

But no one should expect Big Coal to allow itself to slip into irrelevancy without a massive fight. That's why the coal industry is pouring millions of dollars into PR and lobbying efforts -- to try to distract the public and public officials from coal's declining power.

And that's why we're asking you to redouble your efforts -- to keep the pressure on the coal industry and to help end mountaintop removal coal mining forever.


Sorry, Charlie Wilson, Big Coal is losing and there's nothing you can do about it!

Dennis Spisak
Mahoning Valley Green Party
Ohio Green Party

www.ohiogreens.org
www.votespisak.org/thinkgreen/