PAC urges action against coal-to-oil

MoveOn, a national progressive political action and advocacy group, today sent out an e-mail asking members for their help in blocking highly polluting coal-to-oil projects like the one planned for Schuylkill County. The e-mail stated:

The idea of turning coal into liquid to fill our gas tanks should just be a bad joke. But because the coal industry pours millions into lobbying Congress every year, this joke could turn into a real nightmare.

The senate is about to vote on a big bill dealing with energy and the climate crisis. Massive subsidies for coal were defeated in committee. But we're not out of the woods yet, since one of the coal-friendly senators could sneak them back in again as an amendment just before the final vote.

Can you call your senators today to tell them to vote against liquid coal if it's added to the bill at the last minute?

The New York Times reported last month that King Coal is pushing hard for billions of dollars in taxpayer-financed construction loans for coal-to-oil plants, minimum prices for the new fuel, and big government purchases of the fuel over the next quarter-century.

Not only would such operations subject nearby residents to toxic emissions, they would also emit enormous quantities of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. Plans to capture those gases and sequester them underground have repeatedly run into technical difficulties.

If Hometown-area residents want to weigh in with their senators on coal-to-oil technology, they can call Sen. Bob Casey in Washington at (866) 802-2833 and Sen. Arlen Specter at (202) 224-4254.

But they shouldn't hold their breath while waiting for these politicians to oppose the plant. After all, Casey and Specter -- along with state Rep. Tim Holden (D-17th) -- rescued a low-interest loan for the plant earlier this year after the Bush administration canceled it. At the same time, Specter has accepted at least $12,000 in campaign contributions from the Rich family, one of whose companies -- Waste Management and Processors -- is behind the plant.