Originally published January 6 2006
Montana governor believes coal is the answer for his state's energy needs and its flailing economy
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
Touting "cleancoal" technology at an energy conference last month, Governor Brian Schweitzer surprised the media and various state agencies with his proposal for coal development as a clean energy source for his state and a possible economic boost to Eastern Montana, where plants would need to be assembled and thousands of jobs become available to an economically depressed region.
Brian Schweitzer has turned the heads of both big energy concerns and environmentalists lately by emphasized coal development, saying his state can lead the world on "cleancoal" technology and create jobs at home.
"Montana has the largest coal supply in the United States," he said.
"We can walk away or we can embrace it.
Schweitzer declined to say precisely how so-called "cleancoal" technology projects may be financed in the state, but said they could include power plants or a larger-scale synfuels plant that converts coal to liquid fuels, such as diesel.
Talking to reporters at an energy conference last month at Montana State University, the first-year governor said he also likes coal development because it could provide thousands of jobs in economically suffering Eastern Montana.
Ralph Cavanagh, an attorney and northwestern energy program director for the Natural Resources Defense Council, said if coal has a future in Montana and elsewhere in the United States, it depends on finding a way to eliminate damaging emissions from burning coal.
"The question for the coal industry is, are you prepared to take this on?"
Environmentalists in Montana, who worked hard to help elect Schweitzer last year, have expressed surprise and dismay over his emphasis on coal development.
Cavanagh said there are plenty of unanswered questions about coal development in Montana and the United States, and that the industry needs to say what it wants to do.
In the face of rising oil, gas and electricity prices, the state must continue to focus on alternative energy like wind power and ethanol, as well as conservation, he said.
China and India have huge coal reserves and will use them for power development regardless of whether Montana develops its own coal, he said.
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