The case for so-called “clean coal” as a source of energy has gotten really dirty. Energy researchers and coal advocates agree that clean-coal technologies don’t currently exist, but that didn’t stop one lobbying firm from engaging in scummy — and possibly illegal — practices on behalf of the coal industry.

Bonner and Associates, a Washington lobbying firm that specializes in drumming up “grassroots” activism, forged letters to members of Congress, urging them to vote against greenhouse-gas legislation. The letters were written using phony letterhead, and signed by non-existent people, making it appear they came from the NAACP and a Hispanic minority-rights group, the Creciendo Juntos.

The Washington Post reports that Bonner is now under investigation. Of course, everyone at Bonner is shocked — shocked! — that this happened; they claim the letters were written by a temp who’s been fired. However, Bonner has a long history of scummy tactics it has used to fight on behalf of tobacco and pharmaceutical companies.

When California was considering legislation to ban workplace smoking, a friend of mine — now fired — worked at a PR firm that gathered thousands of people to engage in fake “grassroots protests” over the ban.

Think of this next time you see a town hall “average citizen” protesting against health care.

Source:'Clean' Coal, Dirty Tricks