"Clean Coal" - A term that has been thrown around for years and has gained significant popularity in recent times. Perhaps you asked yourself the same question that I did when I really considered this term; How exactly can coal be "clean"? Personally, saying "clean coal technology" is along the same lines as saying "clean dirt technology". 

Although some new specific technologies and policies can contribute to a reduction in the deadly emissions produced by coal burning plants, the reality is that "clean coal" just does not exist, and never will. Putting the words "clean" and "coal" together is blatantly misleading to the public and only contributes to this destructive industry's hype, which acts as dirty cover for their deadly and baneful practices. To see one of the many faces of this deceit and environmental devastation, watch excerpts from this speech given by Don Blankenship, CEO of Massey Energy, the fourth largest coal producer in the United States: Big Coal, Big Lies

So if coal can't be clean, then why is it so dirty? Check out "The Coal Hard Facts" given by www.coal-is-dirty.com and see for yourself. Coal increases rates of disease and kills jobs, burning coal emits mercury pollution and significantly contributes to global warming, it kills miners, wastes huge quantities of water, pollutes seafood and freshwater fish, destroys mountains, kills freshwater streams, and costs billions in taxpayer subsidies. Need I say more?

So you are still not convinced that coal is dirty and destructive? Well consider the following:

• According to the American Lung Association, 24,000 people per year die prematurely from pollution emitted at coal-fired power plants. In fact, the ALA found that coal plants are responsible for 38,000 heart attacks, 12,000 hospital admissions, and 550,000 asthma attacks every year.
• Being the most carbon-intensive fossil fuel, burning coal contributes to 40% of U.S. Carbon Dioxide emissions (those most greatly responsible for global warming). As a result, the U.S. produces 25% of global carbon dioxide emissions.
• Between 1992 and 2002 the Centers for Disease Control estimates that 12,000 coal miners died from black lung disease.
• The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency reports that the amount of mercury in the atmosphere is estimated to have increased by 200% - 500% since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, when coal use began to become prominent. Mercury can have devastating neurological effects, especially on infants and young children.