As Iowans prepare for Thursday night, every participant in the Democratic caucuses should know that Barack Obama is the ONLY Democratic candidate that does not support a ban on new traditional pulverized coal-fired power plants.
In his own current words:
Develop and Deploy Clean Coal Technology: Obama will significantly increase the resources devoted to the commercialization and deployment of low-carbon coal technologies. Obama will consider whatever policy tools are necessary, including standards that ban new traditional coal facilities, to ensure that we move quickly to commercialize and deploy low carbon coal technology.
Obama has the potential to make a great President, perhaps. But he is missing the boat here. One shouldn't go into the most important energy/environment issue of this country's history with one of the main levers stuck in the wrong position.
UPDATE: The point of this diary is to provide the information that Obama is the only Democratic candidate to NOT support a moratorium on pulverized coal plants. I do not have any horse in this race.
No one who is serious about the global warming problem can imagine a path where the United States continues to erect new power plants without the capability to sequester carbon and still meets the reduction goals that scientists deem necessary to prevent catastrophic climate change.
No one who is serious about global warming believes we can lead the Chinese away from the catastrophic rate of new coal power plant construction in China until the United States stops construction of pulverized coal plants here, and leads in the technology development of their replacements.
Only one Democratic candidate has not definitively called for an end to the Cheney/Bush foolish coal plant construction spree in the United States. That candidate is Barack Obama.
THE PLEDGE - 45 WEEKS TO ELECTION DAY
All new COAL-FIRED power plants should be built with carbon capture and sequestration capacity.
Joe Biden YEA
Hillary Clinton YEA
Chris Dodd YEA
John Edwards YEA
Barack Obama "IF NECESSARY"
Bill Richardson STARTING IN 2010
Rudolph Guiliani NAY
Mike Huckabee NO POSITION
John McCain NO POSITION
Mitt Romney NAY
Fred Thompson NAY