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Harry Reid spoke bluntly on energy issues.

Looking the Faux and Balanced cameras square on, he spoke truth:

Coal makes us sick …

Watch it.

Reid spoke truth to an audience that isn’t used to hearing it.

Sigh …

This seemed such an important statement when I saw it back in the summer of 2008 even as the Democratic Party nominee for President, Senator Barack Obama, embraced the language of “Clean Coal“, statements like this gave real hope that the Democratic leadership was coalescing toward an understanding of the gravity of the situation, the dangers of our fossil-foolish ways, and would act seriously to change our course.

There are many of our political elite who ‘get it’ and who work passionately for changing our policies and practices. And, there have been (baby …) steps forward. Yet, it is hard to reach a conclusion other than that the past two years have too many unfulfilled promises, half-measures, and putting of happy faces on (mainly) counterproductive measures (tax subsidies for the filthiest rich, for example).

Back in 2008 …

Speaking in association with a major solar event, the starting of the production line of Ausra’s solar thermal manufacturer center, Reid was challenged about the costs of solar, that according to misguided economic analysis, coal electricity is less expensive than the just rising concentrated solar thermal powergeneration.

We talk about cost competitiveness, but the one thing that we fail to talk about are those costs that you don’t see on the bottom line …

Sing it, Harry.

Praise the truth.

In fact, Harry, as you’re aware, many of do speak of these costs. But, you weren’t necessarily speaking with those who’ve been residing in reality.

These “external” costs are serious and seriously mislabeled as “external”. To paraphrase Al Gore, this is the air that my, your, our children, and we are breathing and the water we are all drinking. That sounds pretty internal to me. How about you?

Costs that you don’t see on the bottom line …

that is …

Coal makes us sick.

Let us make it easy: Coal is Dirty!

• 24,000 people a year die prematurely because of pollution from coal-fired power plants. And every year 38,000 heart attacks, 12,000 hospital admissions and an additional 550,000 asthma attacks result from power plant pollution.
• Mercury contamination is so widespread that one out of every six pregnant women have mercury levels in their blood high enough for levels in the fetus to reach or surpass the EPA’s safety threshold for mercury. … Smokestack emissions from coal-fired power plants are the primary source of mercury pollution …

Do you get the point? Do you really need to hear more?

Global Warming.

It’s ruining our country.

It’s ruining our world.

Harry spoke truth.

Clear truth.

And, do you hear pleaing in this strong statement, a plea for people to hear truth?

We’ve got to stop using fossil fuel.

We’ve, for generations, taken carbon out of the earth and put it in the atmosphere.

It’s making us all sick.

It’s changing our world.

Harry simply spoke truth, truth to a difficult audience and an audience that wants to ridicule rather than listen. An audience stained by oil-soaked tea bags.

Senate Republicans are sending around the video as part of an effort to make Democrats appear out of touch on the need to produce more energy and drill more oil wells.

That’s right, the one spoke truth was the one “out of touch” with reality.

And, the Republicans didn’t continue their their efforts to dig the hole deeper with the dishonest “Drill Here! Drill Now! Pay Less!” 20 years from now (a few cents less). They doubled down in their climate denial and embrace of fossil-foolish ways — even in the face of Deepwater Horizon. They continue to fight, it seems clear, any and all efforts to turn the nation toward a better, more sensible path forward.

These were not Harry’s first strong words related to Global Warming.

Nor were they the last.

These words (and my read of Harry’s passion) gave me hope that fighting Harry Reid would take the fight to get serious action moving on smarter energy policy and a (much) better global warming bill than the failed Boxer-Lieberman-Warner in partnership with President Obama. To develop policies that will fight global warming while strengthening the economy.

“The evidence for the consequences of global warming is appearing with alarming frequency. [The] headlines are filled with tales of deadly weather.” Amid Global Boiling, the heat is on.

Back in 2008, Give ’em Hell Harry Reid gave all the signs of turning up the heat.

And, sigh, Fighting Harry couldn’t (wouldn’t???) even get the inadequate Waxman-Markey bill through the Senate let alone something that could provide hope of lowering the chance of massive Antarctic ice melt.

For too long, it has been time to fan the flames in the nation to build the “political capital” for serious action to Energize America toward a prosperous, climate-friendly society.

Don’t worry, be happy …

And let coal bring you holiday cheer.