Apr 09, 2008 - Opponents of coal use are turning up the heat. This week, protests turned violent against a coal-fired plant being built in North Carolina by a unit of DUKE ENERGY.
Eight demonstrators from a group called “Rising Tide” were arrested after chaining themselves to construction equipment at the Cliffside facility. Others were stunned with Tasers and charged with trespassing, as police cleared the facility so work could resume.
--------------
The forecasts their plans were built on, however, ignored an inconvenient truth: Coal burning to generate electricity emits huge amounts of CO2, the greenhouse gas blamed for global warming.
No doubt there are still some dissenters who see the whole global warming controversy as a hoax or a publicity stunt by former Vice President Al Gore. There is, however, a strong and even irresistible consensus among climate researchers that levels of CO2 are building in the world's atmosphere and that they're having an effect on climate.
More important, for the first time in history, the issue has entered the public domain. And with a new administration coming to the White House in 2009, it's about to enter the realm of regulation as well.
Turning up the Heat on Coal Investing
