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Coal is a booming business, with price increases even exceeding those seen for oil. Fossil Fuels and the polluting of the atmosphere are, we can hope, burning their last embers of extravagant enthusiasm.

While coal is a booming business, it is also a business under fire, with people like Governor Sibelius standing tall in the fight against coal-plant expansions and plant after plant being canceled as, for example, the financial industry wakes up to the real risk with investing in such polluting infrastructure.  This reality seems to have a difficult time penetrating the dense barriers to reality that seem to exist in the great Commonwealth of Virginia, fostered by heavy investments in truthiness by Dominion Virginia Power.  Bit by bit, it seems, the veil shielding that truthiness is being lifted, for example in this Richmond Times Dispatch story: Utility reaches deal on plant: Dominion Va. Power loses proposed bonus for clean-burning facility.  Dominion had been pursuing a deal to have a proposed plant get a 1 percent bonus for being ready to be ‘clean’ via CCS, the regulatory body rejected that and took away the bonus. Poor Dominion VA Power.  For their aggressive pursuit of a polluting future, they will have to be satisfied with a guaranteed 12.12% profit, rather than a 13.12% profit.  Still my heart as the world’s smallest violin plays a song of mourning for Dominion Virginia Power and their serial polluting practices while the world sheds a tear.

The real issue here is the power of taking truth out of truthiness with the phrase “Clean Coal”.  Sadly, this is a Luntzian phrase to mislead all that is, too often, adopted by Democratic Party leaders as if it is reality rather than little more than Power Point presentation thick.  In reality, “Clean Coal” is more appropriately described as Slightly Less Deadly Coal, Sort-of Less Dirty Coal, Somewhat Less Polluting Coal.  There is, in truth, no capacity to conduct carbon capture and storage at this time. “Clean Coal” will still emit mercury (even if less) and have huge amounts of dirty ash post burning.  “Clean Coal”, my ass (and theirs’ …). 

Yet, the propaganda continues.  The efforts to deceive continue … and continue to work.  It is time to call it what it is, a very cruel April Fool’s joke that is accelerating our race toward catastrophic climate change.

Back to Dominion,

Dominion Virginia Power has characterized the plant as being a clean-coal plant, but … the public considers clean coal to include the capture of carbon-dioxide emissions.

the agreement is an admission by the utility that it has misrepresented the plant to the public.

Will Governor Kaine recognize the utility’s deceptive practices?  Will Governor Kain recognize the threats the planet faces? Will Governor Kaine stand up and provide leadership like his fellow Democratic Party Governor, Sebelius, in Kansas?

The world waits for an answer.

Hat tip to VB Dems and Raising Kaine.