People attending the Democratic National Convention in Denver this week are the target of a $2 million advertising and PR blitz by a coal industry-funded front group [2] called the American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity (ACCCE) [3] whose goal is to sell the idea that coal is somehow clean.
One of our writers, Page van der Linden, is attending the conference and snapped some photos of the massive marketing campaign that starts right when delegates touch down at the airport, here's an example:
[4]Of course, as most people know, coal is far from clean. [5] But that hasn't stopped ACCCE and their corporate backers from desperately trying to sell a "green" and environmentally friendly image.
As Matthew Lewis at the Center Public Integrity [6]points out, "as for the ACCCE coalition — it was founded this year solely to address the advancing legislation aimed at cutting the emissions of fossil fuels like coal that are blamed for global warming."
Outside of ACCCE's activities at the DNC, the front group has spent spent $4.7 million on lobbying so far this year [6] — more than any other organization that described itself in disclosure forms as devoted exclusively to influencing climate change legislation.
ACCCE will also be in St. Paul for the Republican convention next week.