Quote Originally Posted by Corvus View Post
I think we may be missing the point here, letting our bias for the messenger get in the way of the message. The message is killer coal is a bad energy source. We didn't know that 200 years ago when we started burning this stuff by the ton, but we know it now and it's time to transition to a better way. Don't get misdirected by the clean coal messages and self serving ads of the energy giants, or misdirected from the truth by the guy on the horse... "The British ARE coming" the message is true. Coal kills and deforms people, animals and fish. Don't lose sight of the truth because you don't like with the guy telling you, sometimes he may be right.
Sorry but I strongly disagree. Coal if mined right, and used properly is just a fuel and quite a good fuel at that. People are the culprits on both sides of this equation as those doing the mining, and using in the past, have had an abysmal track record due to lack of technology, cost and greed. Later efforts are much better and current efforts are doing pretty good in many cases. Coal, as do all fossil fuels, has it's place and we must be ultra careful to not throw out the baby with the bathwater and that, by the way, is the determining factor between a conservationist and an environmentalist. NJTroutBum indicated, "Bottom line is....the Sierra Club misleads sportsmen in order to draw in the dollars of the largest contributors to the environment and true conservation that the country has. Proclaiming itself as being pro-hunting & fishing...and all the while being filled with PETA-type folks, green groups & anti-gun groups who are moving against those same people." and in doing so hit the nail squarely on the head as I've seen this many times over.

Unfortunately far too many folks know and have good reason to believe that, "birds of a feather, flock together," and thus what could be the greatest conservation organizations are diminished by their close associations with the Sierra Club and others of that ilk while shunning organizations that support irrigation, ranching, etc. If you want to maximize your efforts in salmonid or other fisheries conservation you must include all but hold all organizations that are at cross purposes with true conservation at arms length.