University of Minnesota Morris has earned a long list of awards and recognition for sustainability, so it's no surprise that Troy Goodnough's letter to the editor, Can we really afford to rely on coal for our future energy needs?, has been published in the Morris Sun Tribune.
Goodnough writes:
Last week, an editorial appeared in the Morris Sun Tribune from the Coalition for a Secure Energy Future. The editorial suggested that it's important, "to ensure that regulations don't result in a situation where extreme weather conditions put human lives at risk" because of decreased coal usage.
What the editorial does not say is that the Coalition for a Secure Energy Future is a public relations and marketing program of the Lignite Energy Council Political Action Committee. Lignite is a type of coal. The donors to this PAC include employees of Minnkota Power Cooperative, Basin Electric Power Cooperative, Barr Engineering Company, and other businesses involved in coal-powered electricity generation.
In addition to publicity pieces like this editorial, the PAC also provides educational resources for schoolchildren. In their high-school lesson plan, on "How Power Plants Protect the Environment" they do not say anything about carbon pollution from burning coal or the extreme weather changes resulting from the carbon produced by burning coal. . . .
Read the rest at Morris Sun Tribune. When it comes to transparency in energy policy, a little sunlight goes long way.
Photo: Sunlight.
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