Speaking of their Speaking of their multi-million dollar campaign to keep America reliant on coal, "Americans for Balanced Energy Choices" has taken their efforts to Ohio for this week's primary, where they've taken out a number of TV, radio, and print ads to emphasize that "coal is important to Ohio." Perhaps the classiest of them all is this ad (which they've also put out in Spanish) that challenges the idea of "green collar jobs":
So when the candidates talk about changes in energy policies that will result in creating green collar jobs, what will that mean to the jobs we depend on each day here in Ohio? Green collar jobs might sound good to some people but what does that mean for Ohio jobs ... what does it mean for your job? As the presidential candidates visit our state, we need to make sure they know that using coal to generate electricity is a big plus when it comes to creating jobs for Ohio workers.
It's a pretty despicable campaign, considering it's meant to convince Ohio voters that they need jobs in a dirty, dangerous industry, the types of jobs the ABEC folks will never have to work. It's also meant to scare Ohioans away from the climate and energy plans offered by both Clinton and Obama, which include a sizable investment in creating new green jobs. It should be noted that the "university study" that found there are 700,000 jobs in Ohio because of the coal industry was sponsored by the industry trade group Center for Energy and Economic Development (which also happens to be the parent organization ABEC). What the coal industry doesn't want Ohioans to know is that jobs in energy won't disappear simply because coal is no longer the main source of power. They would simply become the green collar job opportunities the Democratic candidates are talking about -- different, cleaner, healthier, better jobs. It's already been proven that there is vast potential for green job development in Ohio, much like everywhere else in the country. And these would be jobs that don't feature black lung and mine collapses as an inherent feature of the occupation. Contrary to what the coal industry would have us believe, not many Ohioans want to work in coal mines, and they know that coal is a dying energy source.
UPDATE: See Hill Heat for more.
--Kate Sheppard
