Suddenly, Dirty Old Coal Is the Fossil Fuel of the Future

WASHINGTON — The National Mining Assn. represents a fuel that many Americans think went out with Charles Dickens.

Just last week, a California congressman's aide asked an association lobbyist wide-eyed: "Do we still use coal in this country?"

The answer is yes--and lots of it. More than half of America's electricity is coal-fired, but polls show that most Americans don't know it.

Considered the voice of coal in Washington, the mining association has been denigrated by critics as a venal hired gun for an industry that doesn't give a whit about acid rain, global warming, black lung disease or slag heaps that scar the land. The industry was under siege in the final years of the Clinton administration, when Washington launched an aggressive effort to make owners of coal-fired power plants undertake expensive pollution control improvements.

"It was like waking up every morning with a six-chamber gun pointed at your head, and each chamber contained a lethal bullet," said Thomas Altmeyer, the association's top lobbyist.

Suddenly, it's a new day for coal in America. That much became clear to Altmeyer the other day as he found himself at the White House, where Vice President Dick Cheney personally briefed about 40 industry types on the Bush administration's new energy plan.

"It was really nice to hear it from him," says Altmeyer.

A lot has changed in the short time since George W. Bush beat Al Gore in West Virginia (and lots of other places), and California's power crisis transformed dirty old coal into a fossil fuel of the future.

Now, when the mining association faxes position papers to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, they are read. Now, when its lobbyists call over to the U.S. Interior Department with suggestions for job candidates, they talk with old friends occupying key positions. Now, those at the top don't need to be told that coal supplies more than half of America's electricity: Bush comes from Texas, which uses more coal-fired power than any other state in the union; Cheney hails from Wyoming, the largest coal-producing state.

When the Bush-Cheney team took over, mining association employees were invited to serve on transition teams. The White House had not had a new occupant but two months before Bush reversed himself on carbon dioxide emissions, deciding to forgo new rules on a gas that scientists say contributes to global warming. Coal-fired power plants are a key source of the gas.