Big Coal, anti-wind

Coal industry insider tapped to kill Cape Wind 3

Those trying to stop what would be the nation's first offshore wind farm, Cape Wind, have just hired (another!) coal industry insider to lead the charge. Glenn Wattley is the new director of the Alliance to Protect Nantucket Sound, and as Wendy Williams details in her blog, he's a longtime coal and coal-gasification proponent. She says that this fits with her past reporting: Big Coal is behind many anti-wind efforts.

In a news report on Wattley's new role (rich reading), a spokesman for Cape Wind said that "Wattley is another example of an Alliance CEO connected to coal and oil interests ... Is this really the Alliance to Protect Nantucket Sound or the alliance to protect coal and oil?" I wonder.

Erik Hoffner is the coordinator of the Orion Grassroots Network which supports the work of hundreds of grassroots groups and which connects the green leaders of tomorrow with good work today via the Grassroots Jobsource. Based in Massachusetts, he is also a freelance photographer.

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  1. Peter Donovan Posted 6:21 am
    11 Sep 2007

    big markets need protectionThere is often a community of interest between the fossil carbon lobby and some common "environmental protection" causes. Logging restrictions help protect the enormous market for petroleum-based plastics. The anti-nuclear movement was a huge gift to the coal industry.
    Allan Yeomans's book PRIORITY ONE: Together We Can Beat Global Warming offers many examples of how the fossil carbon lobby tries to protect its markets, for example electric utility price manipulation leading to the bankruptcy of LUZ, one of the pioneer solar thermal providers who built the Mojave plant.
    Without serious competitors, the coal industry might better convince Congress to ladle out billions for CCS. Carbon capture takes a lot of energy, and the American coal industry is willing to provide that extra 40% or so. Kind of neat how that works.

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  2. GreyFlcn Posted 7:12 am
    11 Sep 2007

    LUZ is still in business thoughLuz is still in business though.
    http://www.luz2.com/

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  3. trock Posted 7:35 am
    11 Sep 2007

    out of business, now back inIt went out of business and now with the global warming talk, it's gotten back in business.   Hopefully 30 years of research in materials and concepts will let it burst loose.   well, you know, build a lot of them.

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