The ACCCE PR robots suffered a bit of malfunction recently when attempting to spit out the coal industry's usual talking points. Researchers at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst released a report last week which discovered that low-income households, and often minorities that encompass the low-income bracket, are disproportionately affected by coal pollution.
The report looked at the distribution of people who live within 3 miles of coal-generating power plants. Residents living within this range are the most likely to suffer negative health effects associated with sulfate and nitric oxide pollution.
Unsurprisingly, most of the people living in this zone are low-income or people of color. So how did the American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity PR bots respond?
JOBS!! ENERGY COSTS!!
"Shutting down coal plants would increase energy costs and destroy jobs and this would be especially devastating to family budgets," said Lisa Camooso Miller (VP of Media Relations at ACCCE). "We know that energy costs have skyrocketed in recent years and have disproportionately hurt black and Hispanic households."
You know what other costs are devastating to family budgets? Insurance costs and medical bills.
Low-income families near coal plants often have to pay for illnesses associated with coal pollution. These can include many respiratory ailments which become chronic, heart disease, and cancer. Also, because children are more susceptible than adults, that means families will be paying doctor's bills for years to come.
From the report, entitled "Coal Blooded: Putting Profits Before People" [PDF], coal plants were given a "failing" grade if their energy output impact was less than the impact of the pollution. For example, 75 plants only produced 8% of the electricity, yet produced 14% & 13% of sulfur dioxide and nitric oxide, respectively.
And jobs? There's no denying coal-related work still dominates areas like West Virginia, but new clean energy jobs may be on the horizon.
Out of work miners are finding work installing solar panels in Appalachia, and the business is growing.
If only we could find the mute button on those PR robots at ACCCE.
Democracy is utterly dependent upon an electorate that is accurately informed. In promoting climate change denial (and often denying their responsibility for doing so) industry has done more than endanger the environment. It has undermined democracy.
There is a vast difference between putting forth a point of view, honestly held, and intentionally sowing the seeds of confusion. Free speech does not include the right to deceive. Deception is not a point of view. And the right to disagree does not include a right to intentionally subvert the public awareness.
This is a guest post by Josephine Ferorelli, originally published at Occupy.com.
There is not enough room in the national headlines for all the battles between fossil fuel expansion projects and climate activists occurring right now. But the Keystone XL proposal’s public comment period ends on April 22nd, so we can shift our focus to coal exportation for a moment. Domestic coal use is one of the few figures that has been steadily dropping, with...
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WaPo yesterday: Heartland's latest
Push to ditch renewable energy mandates from the state legislatures. All in the name of the poor consumer, of course.
http://www.wind-watch.org/news/2012/11/26/climate-skeptic-group-works-to...