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Coal Harms the Planet —and Owns the Senate

Blame industry as well as ideology if US shirks Copenhagen

By Jason Farago, Newser Staff

Posted Oct 21, 2009 8:32 AM CDT

(Newser) – As the world turns to Copenhagen this December, the US, which never ratified the Kyoto Protocol, may once again fail to sign up to save the world from serious climate change. Ideology plays a part, Jeffrey Sachs notes, as many Republican senators are "intent on derailing any Obama initiative." But the bigger problem is economic: No fewer than 25 states produce coal, and the odds of winning even Democratic senators' votes from those states are daunting.

President Obama is negotiating with coal-state senators, and he has the power to order the EPA to impose limits on coal plants and automakers. But the near-impossibility of scoring 67 votes in the Senate raises the real prospect of the US "irresponsibly" shirking environmental progress when even China and India are coming around. "Even coal-state senators should be ashamed," Sachs writes.

[Images (2)]

[Quotes (1)]

Farmer Dave Eckhardt inspecting an onion crop on his farm near La Salle, Colo. (AP Photo/Ed Andrieski)

Greenpeace protesters occupy the lower balcony of the right chimney of the Patnow power plant near Konin, central Poland, Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2008. (AP Photo/Alik Keplicz)

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It is the world's largest and most powerful country, and the one most responsible for climate change to this point; it has behaved without any sense of duty—to its own citizens, to the world and to future generations. - Jeffrey Sachs

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COMMENTS

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Showing 3 of 33 comments

Yourself

Oct 22, 2009 9:26 AM CDT

cause the coal industry has much, much more money to spend to keep themselves in the front running over natural gas. As usual, you just have to follow the money for an answer.

Yourself

Oct 22, 2009 9:20 AM CDT

sadly, if we put the environment at an even keel to that our economy, people might just realize that the biggest producer of new jobs would be environmentally related ones. Yet again, proof that those who are against facts and science are only shooting themselves in the foot. It's a sad sad world we live in these days.

Yourself

Oct 22, 2009 9:18 AM CDT

"I hate completing thoughts" that's cause you don't have the capacity to do so.

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climate change • Barack Obama • environment • coal • Kyoto Protocol • coal mining • treaty • Copenhagen climate change conference • Jeffrey Sachs

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Coal Harms the Planet —and Owns the Senate