Flaks Flog "Clean Coal" in Ohio

onMar 31, 2008 @ 15:13 PDT

The $40 million “clean coal” campaign being run by the so-called “Americans For Balanced Energy Choices” (ABEC) has hit Columbus,Ohio with larger than life billboards as the latest tactic.

Of course, nowhere on the larger-than-life sign (not even in the fine print) will you find, “Paid for by the US Coal Industry,” or “This ad campaign is brought to you in part by the largest coal company in America, Peabody Energy.”

ABEC could at least be somewhat honest and advertise themselves as “Coal Companies for Balanced Energy Choices.”

Instead, commuters are hit with the message: “A cleaner environment for Ohio.”

Bruce Nilles from Sierra Club puts it best:

They [Americans for Balanced Energy Choices] are trying to mislead the public. They run around saying ‘clean,’ like they have created some new version of coal.”

By Kevin Grandia

Kevin is a contributor and strategic adviser to DeSmog. He runs the digital marketing agency Spake Media House. Named a “Green Hero” by Rolling Stone Magazine and one of the “Top 50 Tweeters” on climate change and environment issues, Kevin has appeared in major news media outlets around the world for his work on digital campaigning. Kevin has been involved in the public policy arena in both the United States and Canada for more than a decade. For five years he was the managing editor of DeSmogBlog.com. In this role, Kevin’s research into the “climate denial industry” and the right-wing think tank networks was featured in news media articles around the world. He is most well known for his ground-breaking research into David and Charles Koch’s massive financial investments in the Republican and tea party networks. Kevin is the first person to be designated a “Certified Expert” on the political and community organizing platform NationBuilder. Prior to DeSmog, Kevin worked in various political and government roles. He was Senior Advisor to the Minister of State for Multiculturalism and a Special Assistant to the Minister of State for Asia Pacific, Foreign Affairs for the Government of Canada. Kevin also worked in various roles in the British Columbia provincial government in the Office of the Premier and the Ministry of Health. In 2008 Kevin co-founded a groundbreaking new online election tool called Vote for Environment which was later nominated for a World Summit Award in recognition of the world’s best e-Content and innovative ICT applications. Kevin moved to Washington, DC in 2010 where he worked for two years as the Director of Online Strategy for Greenpeace USA and has since returned to his hometown of Vancouver, Canada.