When Joe Biden said…
“No coal plants here in America,” he said. “Build them, if they’re going to build them, over there. Make them clean… We’re not supporting clean coal.”
… we were told that it some sort of mistake. During the debate, he claimed his words were taken out of context, even though it’s hard to know what context makes “no coal plants here in America” mean “I want to see coal plants in America continue to operate.”
Now Obama says:
I was the first to call for a 100% auction on the cap and trade system, which means that every unit of carbon or greenhouse gases emitted would be charged to the polluter. That will create a market in which whatever technologies are out there that are being presented, whatever power plants that are being built, that they would have to meet the rigors of that market and the ratcheted down caps that are being placed, imposed every year.
So if somebody wants to build a coal-powered plant, they can; it’s just that it will bankrupt them because they’re going to be charged a huge sum for all that greenhouse gas that’s being emitted.
Really, if your job is tied or related to the coal industry, it would seem that one of the options in this election cycle is eager to put you out of business.