‘It’s sick’: Trump administration uses mascot called ‘Coalie’ to push dirtiest fossil fuel
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/feb/03/trump-administration-coalie-mascot-fossil-fuels
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/feb/03/trump-administration-coalie-mascot-fossil-fuels
74 Comments
village604@adultswim.fan · 145 pts · 195d
What's funny is that coal power puts 100x more radiation into the environment than nuclear power.
Fedizen@lemmy.world · 58 pts · 195d
Apparently its also why fish are high in mercury because mercury in burnt coal eventually finds its way to the ocean.
halcyoncmdr@piefed.social · 32 pts · 195d
It's not even really an eventually, it's about a direct as you get. It is exhausted into the sky, gets caught in the water cycle and rains back down to earth.
TriplePlaid@wetshav.ing · 23 pts · 195d
It is also the most serious contributor to acid rain.
https://www.gem.wiki/Sulfur_dioxide_and_coal
AA5B@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 194d
There was a related article, that I found as one of the most hopeful and positives for the environment…..
I don’t remember how long they said mercury remains in the food chain but what I got out of it was that global coal is peaking and likely to decline rapidly and mercury settles out of the food chain in decades so my children may eventually be able to eat tuna and other seafood without worrying about mercury!
Tollana1234567@lemmy.today · 0 pts · 195d
specifically tuna, its the bioaccumulation on the food web, the TUNA eats other animals that have mercury in it, that eats smaller animals that filter mercury, it piles up.
Fedizen@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 194d
That's the trophic structure part. The other part is mercury pollution from mining and fossil fuels.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercury_in_fish
ivanafterall@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 195d
That is funny!
TropicalDingdong@lemmy.world · 9 pts · 195d
Tollana1234567@lemmy.today · 2 pts · 195d
thats likely the least of the problems coal can do, global warming, pullution
spicehoarder@lemmy.zip · 4 pts · 195d
Right, but this is a clear gatcha since all people want to talk about when it comes to nuclear is "toxic green sludge" and storage, as if the rocks didn't already come from inside a mountain...
BlueDemon@lemmy.sdf.org · 1 pts · 195d
There's been talk about re-opening the mines in Wales too and I'm sat here like why?? We already export more power, water and other resources than we get back and building nuclear plants on those sites would likely do more to lower costs of power
plenipotentprotogod@lemmy.world · 60 pts · 195d
There's a recent video from Hank Green outlining the very compelling argument for abandoning coal power in strictly economic terms. It turns out that even if you ignore the big picture environmental impacts like global warming and acid rain, and you also ignore the localized impacts like air pollution and chemical waste, and you ignore the other negative externalities like long term health effects on the workers, then coal is still hard to justify because natural gas plants are simply more profitable.
Not to say that we should be ignoring any of those things, but just to make a point about how impossible it is to make a good faith argument for coal in today's world.
https://youtu.be/IfvBx4D0Cms
dantheclamman@lemmy.world · 18 pts · 195d
It's just a bad fuel in every way. This administration is trying to coerce us to use it
Tollana1234567@lemmy.today · 3 pts · 194d
the only reason the gop needs it because is, they need WV and parts pennsylvania voting R
Steve@startrek.website · 56 pts · 195d
dellish@lemmy.world · 15 pts · 195d
You're the worst character ever, Coalie.
chaogomu@lemmy.world · 7 pts · 195d
More "wanna get brain damage from coal pollutants?"
Or, "How about some Black Lung"
how_we_burned@lemmy.zip · 2 pts · 195d
One high please
Fedizen@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 194d
Hey guess what has more mercury in it than vaccines? Why isn't anyone asking that RFK JR moron about mercury in coal.
diykeyboards@lemmy.world · 49 pts · 195d
As someone who grew up in a mining town I cannot wrap my head around how anyone would want it back. (Money, ofc.)
We grew up playing in dead, bright orange sulfur creeks that are just now beginning to heal 40 years later.
We watched our community die from black lung.
The streets and homes were filthy with black dust.
Fuck coal.
foggy@lemmy.world · 47 pts · 195d
This little guy looks like he'd be introduced to me by Troy McClure.
panda_abyss@lemmy.ca · 13 pts · 195d
I thought it was a South Park bit.
GenosseFlosse@feddit.org · 8 pts · 195d
https://southpark.wiki.gg/wiki/Towelie_(Character)
panda_abyss@lemmy.ca · 4 pts · 195d
Yeah, except coalie looks like he’s about to cry
GenosseFlosse@feddit.org · 3 pts · 194d
He just came back from the doctor with a list of health issues, and he only has 3 months left to live.
panda_abyss@lemmy.ca · 2 pts · 194d
Surely his insurance and the best hospitals will help
SaveTheTuaHawk@lemmy.ca · 4 pts · 194d
Can you imagine a world without coal, Jimmy?
hactar42@lemmy.ml · 40 pts · 195d
Remember when they made Joe Camel illegal because it was appealing to kids, good times
SaveTheTuaHawk@lemmy.ca · 3 pts · 194d
Joe Camel was just fucking weird. And what the fuck was Grimace?
hactar42@lemmy.ml · 2 pts · 194d
There are a few theories on Grimace. He is either physical manifestation of a milkshake headache or an anthropomorphic taste bud.
Steamymoomilk@sh.itjust.works · 40 pts · 195d
South park needs to make a episode about this
PLEASE
LedgeDrop@lemmy.zip · 20 pts · 195d
I can see it now, Coalie enters the scene:
"Howdy-coughcoughcough - oh! My back, Kyle"
Steamymoomilk@sh.itjust.works · 8 pts · 195d
They need to make coaly voiced by a person who has smoked thousands of cigarettes.
"Yeah coals real safe and healty for us all cough cough cough cough"
mika_mika@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 194d
Thousands of cigarettes doesn't seem that many. I've been a smoker for 10 years and I easily smoked thousands. They need a pack a day smoker for like 25 years plus.
Alcoholicorn@mander.xyz · 1 pts · 194d
Make him breath/smoke through a hole in his neck.
They wouldn't though, SP's creators genuinely think there's nothing wrong with the tobacco industry. A lot of episodes that seemed like they were satire were just their actual beliefs, presented in a silly way.
carpelbridgesyndrome@sh.itjust.works · 5 pts · 194d
John Oliver will probably abuse it in some way. Sadly he doesn't start until the 15th and something new and horrible will have replaced this.
makyo@lemmy.world · 29 pts · 195d
Kimmel had a pretty good roast of it but it’s already such a sad satire of itself it was barely necessary
jonne@infosec.pub · 22 pts · 195d
Big issue with the state of politics, comedians are basically relegated to just reading the news because it's already a satire.
Makeitstop@lemmy.world · 7 pts · 195d
And that's on a good day, when they aren't trying to figure out how to even be humorous around the horrific things they need to talk about.
jonne@infosec.pub · 5 pts · 195d
Yeah, can't really joke about executions in the street.
luciferofastora@feddit.org · 3 pts · 194d
Of course you can, you just have to be careful with the execution
HazardousBanjo@lemmy.world · 27 pts · 195d
Now, people are gonna say this is meant to brain-wash children.
But you see, the lead-brained troglodyte, drooling demented dumb fuck boomer generation that has gleefully and passionately supported Trump through racism and child rape, are cognitively declining at record setting rates.
This is for them, to be pur on their TVs they don't know how to use so they can stare at it all slack jawed and stupid while they murmur under their breath and slowly clap their hands together before they have the good graces to finally liberate this planet from their presence already.
limelight79@lemmy.world · 20 pts · 195d
Ever see one of the arguments on Facebook about removing lead in aviation fuel?
Half of the comments unintentionally demonstrate why removing lead is a good idea. It's really amusing, or would be if it wasn't so sad. "The lead is distributed over a wide area! It's not a problem!"
pipes@sh.itjust.works · 9 pts · 195d
And aviation fuel is not even taxed usually :/ we are so dumb. Meanwhile so many dismantled train and tram tracks all over
grimpy@lemmy.myserv.one · -3 pts · 195d
“the ocean is so big, it can easily accommodate the itty bitty nuclear waste from these minuscule Fukushima meltdowns!” /s
grimpy@lemmy.myserv.one · 2 pts · 193d
edited to indicate sarcasm
RoidingOldMan@lemmy.world · 17 pts · 195d
I assume there's a cartoon where they burn him?
dantheclamman@lemmy.world · 8 pts · 195d
Weighted companion coal
BigBrownBeaver@lemmy.world · 6 pts · 195d
Yeah, just google "Coalie rule 34"
deacon@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 195d
The utterly ludicrous and comical contradiction of having an unsustainable mascot never even crossed their mind.
vala@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 15 pts · 195d
If course it's also low effort ai slop
foodandart@lemmy.zip · 14 pts · 195d
Jesus.. and I thought Towelie was lame.
ramenshaman@lemmy.world · 7 pts · 195d
At least Towlie reminds us to bring a towel. That's actually useful information with no downsides.
chaogomu@lemmy.world · 5 pts · 195d
Douglas Adams taught me that in a much less annoying way.
how_we_burned@lemmy.zip · 2 pts · 195d
Douglas Adams also taught me you can never have too many showers in a single day.
SaveTheTuaHawk@lemmy.ca · 1 pts · 194d
and he always has good weed.
Tenthrow@lemmy.world · 14 pts · 195d
They're just fucking with us now.
msage@programming.dev · 8 pts · 195d
Always has been. Never a day without it.
TriplePlaid@wetshav.ing · 12 pts · 195d
From OSMRE website:
The US spends billions every year subsidizing coal and paying for the toll it takes on coal workers' health. And yet, the MAGA folks I know seem to be more supportive of coal than they were 5 years ago. Like a lot more.
I don't get how this plays in MAGA favor when the coal miners themselves are getting shafted and when coal energy represents a complete and total grift - exactly the same type of stuff that had these same folks so excited about Trump and Musk cutting government programs. Any argument for coal falls apart immediately because natural gas is better in almost every way.
Why are these "coalfare kings" getting away with it?
SkavarSharraddas@gehirneimer.de · 18 pts · 195d
The libs don't like coal → they have to own the libs → they like coal.
flowers_galore2@lemmynsfw.com · 2 pts · 195d
Exactly this.
Makeitstop@lemmy.world · 10 pts · 195d
Part of the problem is that propaganda has convinced them that solar and wind are just pipe dreams and scams which are too weak and expensive to be useful. That it's just part of an agenda being pushed by the radical leftist hippy green weenies who want your taxes to subsidize their useless toys. That renewables are all about virtue signalling and aren't practical because the sun doesn't always shine and the wind doesn't always blow, etc.
It's not just the imbeciles either. I've known otherwise intelligent people who simply never bothered to investigate the claims they heard. I have these conversations with my dad on occasion because he knows I'm interested in EVs and solar and he'll mention the bullshit articles he reads and I have to point out the flaws in those articles. The last time we talked he questioned if a solar roof really works in the northern parts of the country and he had trouble accepting it until I pointed out that all the plants outside are solar powered and they do just fine.
PattyMcB@lemmy.world · 5 pts · 195d
You've got to remember that these are just simple farmers. These are people of the land. The common clay of the new West. You know... morons.
GenosseFlosse@feddit.org · 4 pts · 195d
Because using cheap, clean energy would be woke or something, and the sun cannot bribe government officials.
DaddleDew@lemmy.world · 10 pts · 195d
It's like a joke from The Simpsons for crying out loud
RoidingOldMan@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 195d
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qrcH7base6s
JDPoZ@lemmy.world · 9 pts · 195d
NatakuNox@lemmy.world · 7 pts · 194d
BarneyPiccolo@lemmy.today · 7 pts · 195d
Just put some eyes on a hunk of coal, and it's cute! Y'know, for the kids! This is going to save our whole dying industry!
treadful@lemmy.zip · 6 pts · 195d
This is so embarrassing.
Manifish_Destiny@lemmy.world · 5 pts · 194d
Is that trump with the green goblin?
TropicalDingdong@lemmy.world · 5 pts · 195d
just waiting for the coalie labubu
Bot@sub.community · 2 pts · 195d
It's a Stoner!
jankforlife@lemmy.ml · -2 pts · 195d
(un)surprising LMBO