Environmental Groups Bash 'Clean Coal' in New Campaign

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The phrase "clean coal" was repeated by virtually every major presidential candidate this year. Now the battle over what it means is heating up.

The phrase "clean coal" was repeated by virtually every major presidential candidate this year. Now the battle over what it means is heating up.

A group of environmental organizations concerned about global warming, including one backed by former vice president Al Gore, is launching an advertising campaign this week to counter the coal industry's efforts to promote what it calls "clean coal."

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The groups will spend millions of dollars on television, newspaper and outdoor ads, the first of which shows a factory door in the middle of a barren landscape and the slogan: "In reality, there is no such thing as 'clean coal.' " The ads say that "there isn't a single commercial coal power plant in America today that captures its global warming pollution."

The campaign is a response to a $15 million-plus ad campaign that began earlier this year by the American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity, an industry-backed group that has tried to spruce up coal's image.

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