Can Coal Be Earth-Friendly?

by: NOW, t r u t h o u t | Programming Note

Coal, which powers half of all US electricity, is currently taking center stage in the energy debate. (Photo: Reuters)

This week's "NOW" on PBS:

"This B.S. about global warming is just another non-crisis to be worried about just like the ozone warnings we had in the 90's, nuclear holocaust in the 80's, acid rain in the 70's, and littering in the 60's." This is one of the many comments sent in to the "NOW" web site about this week's show "Can Coal Be Earth-Friendly?" The big question: Is there such a thing as clean coal?

Watch the show for yourself RIGHT NOW at: www.pbs.org/now/shows/515/index.html

Also, check out our Issue Clash (on the subject of clean coal), an interactive debate where you get to be the moderator: www.pbs.org/now/shows/515/clean-coal.html

Americans are addicted to coal - it powers half of all our electricity, and is both plentiful and cheap. In fact, some call America the "Saudi Arabia of Coal." But are we paying too high an environmental price for all this cheap energy?

With carbon emissions caps high on the Obama administration's agenda, coal is in the cross hairs of the energy debate. "NOW" Senior Correspondent Maria Hinojosa travels to Wyoming to take a hard look at the coal industry and its case that it can produce "clean coal" - coal that can be burned without releasing carbon into the atmosphere. President Obama has been outspoken in his support for "clean coal technology," but some say the whole concept is not much more than a public relations campaign.

As part of the report, Hinojosa talks with Wyoming Gov. Dave Freudenthal and Jeff Goodell, the author of "Big Coal," who says that carbon dioxide emissions generated from coal contribute to global warming.

Can America's cheapest and most plentiful energy resource be produced without burning the environment? Next on "NOW."

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