Hell No, We Won’t Coal

Former vice-president and professional Powerpoint spokesman Al Gore is calling on the nation’s youthful, unemployed, and unwashed to lock their naturally hairy arms and stop construction of new coal plants that don’t install carbon capturing technologies. Coal is one of the most plentiful non-renewable energy resources on the planet, and coal-burning power plants amount to about 40% of our electricity. But the stuff burns dirty—even dirtier than the trust fund babies willing to take up Gore’s call to civil disobedience—and “clean coal” technology is really just a patch on our festering wound of fossil fuel addiction. I’m ribbing Gore (when I can find his ribs! zing!), but he’s right that we need to start working on renewable energy infrastructure instead of dolling up the failed system we already have. But I’ve yet to hear him suggest a global economic plan to monetize solar, wind, or geothermal power, and unless someone can profit hugely from these things, I don’t see them climbing the list of political or business priorities. More details here.