No such thing as clean coal, CNN founder tells conference

Turner also told the conference, organised by the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) and held this year in Anaheim, that the US wind power industry should prepare an expensive public relations campaign to aggressively fight the corporate coal and oil lobby.

“Every other commercial you see on television, they talk about clean coal,” the magazine North American Windpower quoted Turner as saying. “Clean coal? There’s no such thing. It makes me sick.”

Turner also said reducing society’s reliance on toxic fossil fuels is one of the toughest challenges humankind has ever faced and that the wind power sector should continue to remind politicians that wind energy produces many positive benefits.

“We’re right; they’re wrong. Let’s win this time,” Turner added, according to North American Windpower.

Prior to the conference, being attended by Christian Kjaer, EWEA’s CEO and Malgosia Bartosik, EWEA’s Event’s Director, Turner told AWEA that it is imperative the world turns its attention to wind power and other renewable energies as quickly as possible.

“The clean energy industry, which includes wind and solar, is one of the greatest business opportunities that our country has ever seen, and I urge you to take advantage,” AWEA quoted Turner — who believes coal and oil receive unfair government energy subsidies compared to wind and solar power — as saying. “The days of fossil fuels are over. It’s just a matter of how soon everyone realises it.”

Turner, who is often described as one of the largest private landowners in North America with more than two million acres, founded the highly successful 24-hour live cable news network CNN. A long-time environmentalist, Turner announced in 1997 that he would donate as much as €710 million to the United Nations Foundation, which supports the goals of the UN to promote a peaceful, prosperous and just world.

For more information, go to www.awea.org

By Chris Rose, blog.ewea.org/