Reality Check On Coal, Funding Halted For Mountaintop Mining

A group of the nation’s prominent conservation organizations
has launched the “Reality” Coalition,
a national grassroots and advertising effort to tell a simple truth: in
reality, there is no such thing as “clean coal.” Environmental experts agree that coal is the dirtiest fuel America uses to
produce electricity. The “Reality” Coalition is challenging the coal industry
to come clean in its advertising and in its operations. Coal cannot be
considered clean until its carbon dioxide emissions are captured and stored.

“We need to clean up coal, not spend billions on a scheme to
market coal as clean,” said Larry Schweiger, President and CEO of National
Wildlife Federation. “It’s time to build a better energy future with existing
clean sources like wind and solar that will create jobs, boost our economy and
confront the climate crisis head-on.”

The Alliance
for Climate Protection, League of
Conservation Voters, National Wildlife
Federation, Natural Resources Defense
Council, and Sierra Club
form the coalition and spearheaded the campaign. To learn more, visit www.ThisIsReality.org.

In a move in the right direction, Bank of America has
decided to phase out financing for companies that practice mountaintop removal
coal mining.  “We…will phase out
financing of companies whose predominant method of extracting coal is through
mountain top removal,” the company said in its
new coal policy.

Mountaintop removal mining is a method of coal extraction
that is highly destructive to neighboring wildlife and natural resources.