In late November we launched our “Coal is Not the Answer” campaign to debunk the claims of clean coal. At that time, we also unveiled our contest of creating a new slogan for coal – one that tells the truth.
We know many of you got involved, as we received more than 5,000 slogan entries and 1,000 comments on the website, from people all over the U.S. Yesterday we delivered all 5,000 slogans to the biggest “clean” coal pushers in the U.S. – the American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity (ACCCE).
Everyone’s voice needs to be heard, hence the large special delivery to their headquarters in Alexandria, Virginia. And as expected, ACCCE did not greet our folks with open arms. We were at least able to deliver the slogans and our information on a CD.
Of course the ACCCE staff knew we were coming and even watched through their office windows as our coalition set up their outside displays. Jim said that there was a good coalition of people from the Sierra Club and Chesapeake Climate Action who showed up to help, holding signs with the 10 finalist slogans on them, chanting about clean energy, and handing out brochures to those who walked by.
But you’re probably wondering what slogans we picked as the best – there are ten! Those ten were displayed along with a video on a mobile billboard that drove around Washington, D.C., on Monday and hung out with the folks outside the ACCCE office in Alexandria on Tuesday. (In case you were concerned about the truck, we bought carbon offsets to negate the impact of our billboard’s transportation.)
Here are five of the slogans we picked (in no particular order) – to see the rest, head over to www.CoalIsNotTheAnswer.org to see the other five.
- What You’re Burning Was My Mountain
- Coal: Party Like It’s 1899
- Coal: Yesterday’s Solution, Tomorrow’s Pollution
- Coal: It’s Called a Fossil Fuel For a Reason
- Coal: The Other Second-Hand Smoke
Beyond the slogans, we also added images of the Harriman Coal Spill Disaster in Tennessee to the video on the billboard. If there ever was an incident that dispelled the myth that coal can be clean, this is it.
Incidents like the coal ash spill also remind us how important it is that the public learns the truth about coal and that we move toward cleaner, safer and more cost-effective energy sources.
Want to see the video of the mobile billboard and our action outside the ACCCE headquarters? We’ve embedded it here for your viewing pleasure.