On this day, November 13, 2008, the Australian Coal Industry launches a propaganda (that’s what “public relations” is called when our official enemies do it) campaign, dangling the promise of “NewGenCoal.”
THE coal industry feels unloved. Its polling tells it Australians have no idea what, if anything, it is doing to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions – and most say they’ve never heard of carbon capture and storage.
So the coalminers want to convert us. Today the Australian Coal Association launches a $1.5million ad campaign – and a $1million website – to tell us what it’s doing to develop what it calls “NewGenCoal”.
Association executive director Ralph Hillman predicted that carbon capture and storage would be commercially viable by 2017, and said the industry was investing $1 billion to ensure coal a future as a low-emission technology.
Colebatch, T. 2008. Coal industry reaches out for love. The Age, 13 November, p.3.
(Check how they put land-clearing and intensive agriculture AHEAD of fossil fuels!)
On this day the atmospheric PPM for carbon dioxide was roughly 385.
Now it is 419ish- but see here for the latest.
Why this matters.
We need to remember just how much effort (you might even say energy) goes into trying to polish the turds… How much the fossil fuel industry sector invests in trying to keep its legitimacy, and having people think well of it…
For an overview of Australian coal industry efforts, see https://theconversation.com/recycling-rules-carnival-of-coal-is-a-blast-from-the-pr-past-45819
What happened next?
Prime Minister Kevin Rudd played politics, failed to get his terrible legislation through. The climate wars. The ACA was wound up in 2013 or so I think, but the coal lobby did a reverse takeover of the Minerals Council of Australia. My proof? Scotty from Marketing and that lacquered lump…