Big Coal flexes $100 million PR muscle on soft sell

[theHandpuppet]

I have to tell you, this article could have been ripped right from the pages of any newspaper in Appalachia. Whether it's "Friends of Coal" in West Virginia or "Australians for Coal", the tactics are exactly the same. I don't think folks really comprehend the amount of PR money the coal industry is spending worldwide.

http://www.canberratimes.com.au/comment/big-coal-flexes-100-million-pr-muscle-on-soft-sell-20140507-zr5kq.html
The Canberra Times
Big Coal flexes $100 million PR muscle on soft sell
Bob Burton

The muscle of the coal industry’s lobbying machine was flexed last month with the launch of the latest industry-co-ordinated PR campaign ''Australians for Coal'', pleading the case for ongoing support of the industry in the face of a market slump and increasing community opposition. It takes a large reservoir of funds to reach both the halls of power and millions of lounge rooms at primetime, but the release of the Minerals Council of Australia’s annual report this week reveals the huge amount of money being spent to push Big Coal’s case.

A best-guess estimate is that in the last two years Australia’s coal industry has spent the best part of $100 million attempting to defend its increasingly tattered social licence.

Renewable power and energy efficiency are eroding profitability in the domestic coal power sector and undermining demand in key markets such as China, but Australia’s coal lobby shows no sign of acknowledging that times have changed.

If Australians are looking for an explanation as to why coal-belt states and the federal government are bending over backwards to support the industry, despite the increasing outcry at the damage the industry does to Australia’s land and water resources, and the global climate, the single biggest reason is the sheer scale of Big Coal’s largely behind-the-scenes lobbying machine. As growing farmer and community opposition, tough market conditions and political scandals rapidly undermine its standing, the industry appears to be cranking up its PR machine.

Read more: http://www.canberratimes.com.au/comment/big-coal-flexes-100-million-pr-muscle-on-soft-sell-20140507-zr5kq.html#ixzz33aTXLRZv