With the 2012 election hinging on Ohio—more specifically, the coal towns of Southeast Ohio—it’s no surprise that both candidates are touting fossil-fuel friendliness, rather than green conscience. On his Saturday morning show, Chris Hayes said we can’t count on Washington to fix “our single greatest governing challenge” for us. Instead, passionate activists need to speak up to strengthen the public’s “weak, nonchalant preference for us to ‘do something’ about that whole climate change thing.”

—Steven Hsieh

For more on coal industry politics, read Lee Fang on the National Mining Association's voter coercion efforts.