system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
Is "Clean Coal" purely a marketing ploy? 

I know there is a lobby group designed to promote the idea 
that so-called "clean" coal can be used to generate electricity
with little or no pollution. I don't know if their science is reputable 
or not. What does Reddit Science say?
gpt
The term "clean coal" is just a marketing phrase, but the underlying technologies do have some merit.

It is difficult to make an honest assessment because there is a lot of disinformation on both sides.  Environmentalists may say there's no such thing as clean coal, and lobbyists will have you think that it's the best thing since sliced bread.

In a perspective published in the journal _Science_ Christian Lastoskie, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Michigan (2010) wrote

"A transition to a portfolio of renewable energy, nuclear power, and biofuels may yet mitigate the perceived calamities of global climate change. In the meantime, the global abundance of accessible, inexpensive coal, combined with incessant pressure for economic growth among developed and developing nations, will ensure that present-day investments in fossil energy are not casually abandoned. Many more gigatons of carbon dioxide are thus slated for discharge into the atmosphere in the coming decades. Given this reality, technology advancements that address global climate change through carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) are equally important as innovations that spur the adoption of wind power, photovoltaics, and other generation assets with small carbon footprints."

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At the cost of increasing electricity prices 50-100% a large percentage (upwards of 90%) of the carbon output of a coal plant (and many other particulate, sulfur, and other compounds) can be captured and stored underground.  It is neither a perfect or permanent solution, but at some cost both existing and new coal-fired power plants can have significantly improved environmental impacts while respecting the practical necessity of fossil fuels for the immediate future. "Clean coal" is a necessary part of a pragmatic, gradual approach to a cleaner future.