Take this theory with a grain of, er, coal: US minorities will suffer an undue financial burden if the US signs the United Nations’ proposed “Kyoto” treaty to reduce greenhouse gasses worldwide. Says who? A study by several minority groups — which just happens to have been paid for by the coal industry.
The study, according to the ASSOCIATED PRESS, contends that restrictions on factory and business emissions would hit the bottom line, in the form of fewer blue-collar jobs of the type held disproportionately by African-Americans and Hispanics.
One of the groups which conducted the study, the Labor Council for Latin American Advancement, represents 1.5 million Hispanic members of the AFL-CIO. When asked about the influence of coal industry money on the report, LCLAA director Oscar Sanchez said: “We had, the groups here had, a story to tell and we found a way of doing it. We found a sponsor. … It’s not uncommon. It’s not like it’s something that never happened before.”
