Better than a smoking gun – straightforward ad against nuclear power from coal industry in AU

I have some very engaged readers. Some of you even follow up if you send something interesting and I do not get around to sharing it with all of you.

Daniel sent me a scan of an advertisement that appeared in the Courier-Mail out of Queensland, Australia in November 2007. it is a very straightforward effort by the coal industry to scare people about nuclear power – not really so much about the typical aspects of nuclear power that some try to use to instill fear, but the threat that nuclear power poses to coal mining jobs.

This kind of ad can only work in a place like Queensland that has a high concentration of miners, but it supports my theory that a lot of what you read about energy needs to be viewed in the context of knowing that it is the world’s largest and often most lucrative business. Competition over market share is often the hidden motive behind the emotionally laden messages from all kinds of different people.

(Once again, I will freely acknowledge that I hope to someday make a lot of money from nuclear power. I have no qualms about competition, I just like it to be out in the open.)

Update: Posted August 28, 2008: You have to get over to the Depleted Cranium post that riffed off of this one. The additional job protection ads are priceless!