The Coen Brothers — the same Coen Brothers who brought you Fargo, The Big Lebowski, and No Country for Old Men — made the above ad for ThisIsReality.org, a nonprofit getting the word out about how dirty coal really is.
And just how dirty is it, Annie?
“Coal plants are a leading cause of respiratory illness, they account for over 40 percent of our nation’s carbon dioxide emissions, and, because of impending carbon pricing, are rapidly becoming the more expensive.”
Coal mining consumes 260 million gallons of water every day in the United States. If that number’s too abstract, try this one: 12,000 miners died from black lung disease between 1992 and 2002.
“Yet there are still plans to build more than 100 coal-fired power plants across the United States.”
Check out more disturbing facts (and great quotes) on the This Is Reality website.
So. Want that as you air freshener? No. Well done, Joel and Ethan Coen! Here’s a video about the making of the dark comedy ad:
There is no such thing as clean coal. You can join the fight to get America to “face reality” about coal here.