Yesterday, I attended the annual Peabody Energy Shareholder meeting to ask the CEO Gregory Boyce and Board of Directors what the company is doing to combat the Obama Administrations “war on coal”. As a supporter of clean affordable coal I was surprised to find that 40% of energy in the United States is derived from coal. The national news media acts as if wind and solar energy are our primary sources of energy production.

Here is the question that I asked:

I’m Stacy Washington of Project 21, a division of the National Center for Public Policy Research, a free-market think-tank, representing shareholder David Ridenour, who is president of our think-tank. Thank you for the opportunity to speak with you today.

Our question centers around the “war on coal” being waged by the Obama Administration and environmental organizations, and the critical need for this company, and this industry, to fight back by getting out the truth when lies are told.

First, we would like to know what this company is doing to get the truth about the importance of low-cost energy out to the American people and to correct the record when the news media, government officials and highly-politicized advocacy organizations make false statements, and what it plans to do in this area in the future.

Second, we would like you to give the U.S. energy industry across the board a grade, A through F, on how well it is defending itself in the court of public opinion with proactive programs to get out the truth.

Mr. Boyce gave a passionate response to both parts of our question, giving the energy industry in general a “very poor rating” in it’s defense of itself in the court of public opinion. He expressed a desire to better this situation. He then turned quickly to discussing the Advanced Energy for Life Campaign, highlighting that fully 40% of US Energy comes from coal and that
“in Missouri that percentage is a whopping 80% and we still have clean water, air and skies.”
After sharing more stats on global energy usage, Mr. Boyce spoke to the sad fact that many “climate” enthusiasts naively discounts the facts of life for millions of Americans. Every increase in energy costs means poorer Americans have to go without energy, that these Americans are already getting a check from the government to help them pay for energy and what amounts to a pittance to us (an increase of $15-20.00 a month) is catastrophic to them. Mr. Boyce is unreservedly passionate about Peabody Energy’s newest initiative which addresses the ingeniously termed issue of Energy Poverty.

Arm yourself with the facts. Find your voice and use it to counter act the abundance of spurious facts that abound in the media about coal fired electrical energy. Learn more about Energy Poverty and Peabody Energy’s message through their new initiative; the Advanced Energy for Life Campaign.

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