It’s rare to get this upset over someone making a valid statement, but the other day Sen. Manchin (D-WV) said something that I completely agree with, and it’s driving me nuts. When discussing the future of coal in a hearing with Department ofEnergy Secretary Steven Chu, he stated the following:

“It doesn’t make any sense at all that we can’t do it better, cleaner, and work together.”

Coal is inherently dirty, and the extraction process carries safety and environmental risks that cannot be entirely avoided. But we can do it better and cleaner, and if the Senator wants to include a feel-good political platitude, then sure, we can even “work together.”