It's easy to get a distorted view in downstate Illinois. The coal industry is powerful here so they have most politicians repeating pipe dreams of carbon capture and other so-called clean coal technology saving the industry. But outside Illinois, not everyone is pandering to coal industry lobbyists.
I watched most of the debate between coal mining CEO Don Blankenship and Environmental Attorney Robert F. Kennedy Jr. that's getting a lot of attention. They disagreed on pretty much everything that relates to coal, with one exception. They agree that carbon capture is a "joke" and no solution to climate change.
And let's not forget this recent quote from Blankenship:
“No, we don’t need to keep researching carbon capture and sequestration. We’ve already spent billions and that money has been waste.”
There's a reality check for Durbin, Quinn, Obama, and every other politician who thinks Illinois can keep relying on the coal industry to sustain our economy.
The state of Illinois is spending millions of taxpayer dollars trying to convince people that this joke will save the coal industry. How much more money will be wasted before we move on to serious, realistic solutions?