Coal and Obama's VP Decision. Posted by Frank O'Donnell, Grist, August 11, 2008. "As… Barack Obama prepares to… [choose his] running mate -- two governors are said to be on the short list: Tim Kaine of Virginia and Kathleen Sebelius of Kansas... His choice of a partner could send an important signal [on where he comes down on the future of coal]. Is he really going to break with the politics of the past? ...[We all know of Sebelius' epic struggle against Big Coal in Kansas. But] when… similar[ly] challenged [in Virginia], Kaine ducked. In his case, Dominion Power is seeking to build a large conventional coal-fired plant in rural western Virginia. Despite protests… the Virginia State Corporation Commission and the Air Pollution Control Board gave the project a green light. Kaine tried to downplay any involvement… particularly after it was disclosed that he had received nearly a quarter of a million dollars in campaign contributions from Dominion... [But he] also made it clear that he supported Dominion's plans. 'We are not going to eliminate coal, a native source that we have, as one of the sources that will power our country,' [he] said… If an Obama Administration is going to meet [the climate] challenge, it will have to move beyond… conventional politics. With her decision rejecting Kansas coal plants, Sebelius showed herself able to [do that]."
2008-08-13
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