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 Coen brothers: Target coal industry
American filmmaker Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, who won Academy Awards for "Fargo" and "No Country for Old Men", have turned their sardonic sights on the coal industry.
The Coen brothers directed a TV advertisement against the notion that coal can be an environmentally safe way to produce electricity.
While critics say coal is a major contributor to global warming, about 600 coal-burning plants supply nearly half the nation's power.
The advertisement, which started airing on Thursday on TV channels, plays like an air freshener ad. A smiling salesman praises the virtues of a black spray can labeled "clean coal"; but when a housewife uses it, the can spews a black cloud that gives her family coughing fits. The advertisement ends with the line, "In reality, there's no such thing as clean coal".
In a statement, Coen brothers said, "We were excited to be part of this important project and tell another side of the `clean' coal story".
Coen brothers, working from a concept and script supplied by the ad makers for the environmental campaigners, the Reality Coalition. Reality Coalition was formed last year to counter promotional efforts by a coal industry trade group.
The American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity has spent $18 million on TV commercials promoting the industry's use of pollution-control equipment and arguing that coal can be a clean, cheap and abundant fuel.
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News / Gossips by barry_dgn
