The words in the title of this post sound like a bit of a stretch, don’t they? I mean, how can anyone believe that Barack Obama is really out to kill the coal industry? After all, he has tried his best to make sure the people of America and especially those in West Virginia, Virginia, Ohio, Kentucky, and Pennsylvania, which are major coal producing states, know that he is for new coal plants, as long as they are clean. The states in that area, known as the Appalachian states have over 1200 active coal mines and it would put a certain damper on the enthusiasm they feel towards Barack Obama if they knew what he really intends to do to the coal industry.
In January of this year, the San Fransisco Chronicle did a story about Barack Obama, which you can read here. Just scroll down to where is says “In his own words” to read what Obama has to say. This story was published on January 18, 2008 and was based on an hour long interview with San Fransisco Chronicle editors and reporters on January 17, 2008. This story does not mention Obama talking about the coal industry, but an audio tape of the interview has surfaced that has Obama detailing his plans for the coal industry. You can hear the audio at NewsBusters. The transcript is below.
This is not the first time Barack Obama has let his guard down in San Fransisco. It was there that he talked about how some of us were clinging to our guns and our religion. It seems that he really has a poor opinion of some of the citizens of our country and of some of our industries.
I fully understand we need to take care of our environment in a responsible manner, but let me ask this question. Is it responsible to put such restraints on any industry that they can not even afford to keep their doors, or in this case, their mines open? To do what Barack Obama is suggesting will surely cost the states who have a lot of coal mines thousands of jobs. Is that what the man really wants to do? From listening to the audio tape and reading the transcript, it appears that those are his intentions.
I honestly do not know if he is so wrapped up in the environmentalist talk that he doesn’t care if those jobs are lost, or if he just doesn’t understand what the full consequences will be if he follows through with his plans. Either way, the citizens of those states need to give careful consideration as they cast their votes in this Presidential election. Some of these states will be major players in determining who wins this election and their jobs and their way of life depends on them making the right choice.
That’s my take!
In January of this year, the San Fransisco Chronicle did a story about Barack Obama, which you can read here. Just scroll down to where is says “In his own words” to read what Obama has to say. This story was published on January 18, 2008 and was based on an hour long interview with San Fransisco Chronicle editors and reporters on January 17, 2008. This story does not mention Obama talking about the coal industry, but an audio tape of the interview has surfaced that has Obama detailing his plans for the coal industry. You can hear the audio at NewsBusters. The transcript is below.
Let me sort of describe my overall policy.
What I’ve said is that we would put a cap and trade system in place that is as aggressive, if not more aggressive, than anybody else’s out there.
I was the first to call for a 100% auction on the cap and trade system, which means that every unit of carbon or greenhouse gases emitted would be charged to the polluter. That will create a market in which whatever technologies are out there that are being presented, whatever power plants that are being built, that they would have to meet the rigors of that market and the ratcheted down caps that are being placed, imposed every year.
So if somebody wants to build a coal-powered plant, they can; it’s just that it will bankrupt them because they’re going to be charged a huge sum for all that greenhouse gas that’s being emitted.
That will also generate billions of dollars that we can invest in solar, wind, biodiesel and other alternative energy approaches.
The only thing I’ve said with respect to coal, I haven’t been some coal booster. What I have said is that for us to take coal off the table as a (sic) ideological matter as opposed to saying if technology allows us to use coal in a clean way, we should pursue it.
So if somebody wants to build a coal-powered plant, they can. It’s just that it will bankrupt them.
What I’ve said is that we would put a cap and trade system in place that is as aggressive, if not more aggressive, than anybody else’s out there.
I was the first to call for a 100% auction on the cap and trade system, which means that every unit of carbon or greenhouse gases emitted would be charged to the polluter. That will create a market in which whatever technologies are out there that are being presented, whatever power plants that are being built, that they would have to meet the rigors of that market and the ratcheted down caps that are being placed, imposed every year.
So if somebody wants to build a coal-powered plant, they can; it’s just that it will bankrupt them because they’re going to be charged a huge sum for all that greenhouse gas that’s being emitted.
That will also generate billions of dollars that we can invest in solar, wind, biodiesel and other alternative energy approaches.
The only thing I’ve said with respect to coal, I haven’t been some coal booster. What I have said is that for us to take coal off the table as a (sic) ideological matter as opposed to saying if technology allows us to use coal in a clean way, we should pursue it.
So if somebody wants to build a coal-powered plant, they can. It’s just that it will bankrupt them.
This is not the first time Barack Obama has let his guard down in San Fransisco. It was there that he talked about how some of us were clinging to our guns and our religion. It seems that he really has a poor opinion of some of the citizens of our country and of some of our industries.
I fully understand we need to take care of our environment in a responsible manner, but let me ask this question. Is it responsible to put such restraints on any industry that they can not even afford to keep their doors, or in this case, their mines open? To do what Barack Obama is suggesting will surely cost the states who have a lot of coal mines thousands of jobs. Is that what the man really wants to do? From listening to the audio tape and reading the transcript, it appears that those are his intentions.
I honestly do not know if he is so wrapped up in the environmentalist talk that he doesn’t care if those jobs are lost, or if he just doesn’t understand what the full consequences will be if he follows through with his plans. Either way, the citizens of those states need to give careful consideration as they cast their votes in this Presidential election. Some of these states will be major players in determining who wins this election and their jobs and their way of life depends on them making the right choice.
That’s my take!
