We constantly hear Mitt Romney talk about the “war on coal,” and to the extent that exists, it’s being waged by chap natural gas which crowds out the profitability of coal extraction. However, this doesn’t mean that coal employment has decreased in the United States: in fact, West Virginia coal jobs have increased under Obama, as has coal employment nationwide.

How can this be true?

Anyone hoping to see an end to our policies of encouraging the burning of fossil fuels certainly winced at the energy section of last night’s debate, which did not mention climate change but did feature both candidates trying to convince the country that they would deliver more coal and oil-based domestic energy.

Obama, a consummate politician, made the decision that for his second shot at casting for the future, nuclear power is political deadweight.

Today NPR told us some “good news,” the story that finally, by popular demand and Presidential edict, America is going to get a national college football playoff. The story went on about how the country has been deprived for a century of the satisfaction of . . . uh, something, which I translated as knowing which collegiate athlete program is the most corrupt at recruiting the future stars for the NFL Gladiator spectacles.

The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), as covered previously by DeSmogBlog, is the “Trojan Horse” behind mandating that climate change denial (“skepticism,” or “balance,” in its words) be taught in K-12 classrooms.

When I turned on the TV last night, I wanted to stand up and cheer. While watching President Obama’s State of the Union address, I felt much like I did when I watched his 2008 acceptance speech at Mile High Stadium in Denver. OK, that’s not true–not hardly. Reality has not been kind to Obama’s rhetoric, after all. But when Obama got to the energy section of the speech, I found much to applaud, not unlike in 2008. . . with some obvious caveats for his praise of dirty, dangerous, failed or flat-out fictional forms of energy production.

New West Virginia Senator Carte Goodwin opposes any cap and trade legislation before the Senate, CQ reports.

You can read the 20-page summary of the Kerry-Lieberman climate and energy bill, known as “The American Power Act,” or you can opt for the smaller four-page summary. Either way, you’re going to find a lot to like, if you’re a dirty energy producer.

The Nobel Laureate Playwright. George Bernard Shaw knew well the human condition when he observed that, “We learn from history that we learn nothing from history, ” and that, “those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it.”

Jeff Biggers new book, Reckoning at Eagle Creek: the secret legacy of coal in the heartland, is a vivid illustration of our willingness to justify destructive behavior today by recreating a history that never existed in the first place.

Obama has no problem allowing very rich interests to go on with dirty energy production. He has made investments in solar and wind (and offshore wind may be a part of this exploration), sure, but he also flipped on drilling way back in August 2008, in the middle of the Presidential campaign. This announcement merely codifies that wish for an “all-of-the-above” energy solution.