Thinking Green, Obama Cools Toward Coal

New stance on alternative-fuel plan perplexes industry

By Jonas Oransky, Newser Staff

Posted Jun 13, 2007 4:14 PM CDT

(Newser) – Caught between his increasingly carbon-conscious party and a major player in his home state, Barack Obama has backed off his support for converting coal into liquid vehicle fuel, the LA Times reports. Global warming is important to Democrats, but coal is important to the Illinois economy, and the senator's shift left industry leaders scratching their heads.

While acknowledging Obama's balancing act, a National Mining Association spokesman accused him of caving to an environmentalist "jihad." Obama was a leader of a bipartisan coalition that supported tax breaks for the coal industry, making the shift—which his staff termed a clarification—to a stance that includes a specific carbon-reduction goal all the more noteworthy.

from his old supporter. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast, File) (Associated Press)

A laborer approaches a mound of coal to load onto a truck in Gauhati, India, Tuesday, May 29, 2007. India's Secretary of the Ministry of Environment and Forests Pradipto Ghosh said the country will reject... (Associated Press)

Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama speaks at a gas station that sells biofuels to discuss his plan for a National Low Carbon Fuel Standard during a news conference in the Brentwood area of Los... (Associated Press)

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Northeast, Midwest would lose seats if today's census was used

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OTHER STORIES ON OUR RADAR

Barack Obama • global warming • environmentalism • coal • fuel • Illinois • National Mining Association • Election 2008 • carbon emissions

MOST POPULAR STORIES

[ By Views ]

[ By Comments ]

More Newser Stories

Green Fight Will Be Obama's Costliest

President-elect knows he must do better than Bush, and has political capital to do it

'Senator Oprah' Sounded Good to Blago

Then-gov considered media titan to succeed Obama as senator

Gov't Will Slash Greenhouse Emissions: Obama

Executive order requires federal agencies to reduce waste, conserve energy

South the Big Winner in New Census

Northeast, Midwest would lose seats if today's census was used

Industry Muffled Own Scientists on Warming

Coal, oil, companies suppressed experts' findings for years

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