Coal Energy Drink Video Parody: ‘Coal Isn’t Just Clean Anymore, It’s Refreshing’

Would you drink liquid coal? The video below from the Renewable Energy Accountability Project (REAP) suggests “coal isn't just clean … it's refreshing” when you drink it. But this isn't an ad for the latest multi-hour energy booster or hangover-inducing alcoholic energy drink. REAP is arguing that coal isn't as clean an energy source as the industry would like you to believe. The vide o encourages thanking “the big utility companies for putting profits before your future health, the economy and the planet.” REAP isn't the first group to take on Big Coal through humor. Filmmakers Joel and Ethan Coen teamed up with the Reality Project in 2009 and released this spoof of clean coal, which says that clean coal “harnesses the awesome power of the word 'clean.'” Others have taken on the coal industry for more personal reasons. Whistleblower Charles Scott Howard, a Kentucky coal miner, spoke out against the mining industry and the numerous health and safety concerns surrounding coal mining. The Sierra Club's Beyond Coal campaign, backed by $50 million from New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, is also raising awareness about the problems with coal. According to an American Lung Association report, power plants are responsible for 13,000 deaths annually. The report also says that coal-fired power plants “produce more hazardous air pollution in the U.S. than any other industrial pollution sources.” Even without negative publicity, coal mining in Appalachia is on the decline. According to the Associated Press, “The U.S. Department of Energy projects that in a little more than three years, the amount of coal mined [there] will be just half of what it was in 2008. That's a significant loss of a signature Appalachian industry, and the jobs that come with it.” For more information about the Renewable Energy Accountability Project, visit their website. Video Note: On their YouTube page, REAP apologizes for “the unintended technical glitch over the spokesperson's eyes” at 0:15. A corrected version can be viewed on the FunnyOrDie website. Article courtesy of huffingtonpost.com