Edwards Pushes Debate on Coal

From Solve Climate:
http://www.solveclimate.com/blog/20080116/leading-pack-again-edwards-calls-moratorium-dirty-coal

Leading the Pack Again, Edwards Calls for Moratorium on Dirty Coal
by Stacy Feldman - Jan 16th, 2008

The role of the underdog in the presidential race is to change the terms of the debate. That's John Edwards on climate change policy. He was first out of the gate with a bold plan -- specific greenhouse gas reduction targets and an economy-wide cap-and-trade scheme. And the two front-runners followed suit with nearly identical plans of their own.

Last night during the Democratic presidential debate in Las Vegas Edwards called for an end to dirty coal. It's an area where Obama and Clinton have been conspicuously mum and/or wishy-washy.

Let's hope he stays in the race long enough to force a shift in his competitors.

Here's Edwards, from the transcript:

I'd go another step that at least I haven't heard these two candidates talk about. They can answer for themselves. I believe we need a moratorium on the building of any more coal-fired power plants unless and until we have the ability to capture and sequester the carbon in the ground.

Because every time we build a new coal-fired power plant in America when we don't have that technology attached to it, what happens is, we're making a terrible situation worse. We're already the worst polluter on the planet. America needs to be leading by example.

Clinton answered the Edwards challenge but fell far short of calling for an end to dirty coal. She's proposing an energy future at least partially sourced in so-called "clean coal" -- the unproven, undeveloped technology that the coal industry invokes as a greenwash buzzword for business-as-usual:

I have said we should not be siting any more coal-powered plants unless
they can have the most modern, clean technology. And I want big
demonstration projects to figure out how we would capture and sequester
carbon.

Obama dodged the coal bullet altogether in his response.

Keep up the pressure Mr. Edwards. America needs you.