New York AG Subpoenas Xcel

Eliot Spitzer's successor, New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, has subpoenaed five energy companies, including Xcel Energy, because of their plans to build coal burning power plants without disclosing financial risks to investors.

The subpoenas are seeking documents from Xcel Energy, AES Corporation, Dominion, Dynergy, and Peabody Energy to determine whether companies disclosed to investors the risks of increasing carbon dioxide pollution. Carbon dioxide is sure to come under regulation by federal and state governments, adding a major expense to the cost of burning coal.

Xcel Energy, which operates throughout Colorado, has been a frontrunner as far as investing in renewable energy sources, but still has quite a bit of coal baggage to deal with. Not only is the company in the process of constructing a large coal burning power plant near Pueblo, it still operates seven coal burning power plants in the state that collectively release more carbon dioxide than any other source in Colorado.

Described as "rare, if not unique" for securities laws to be used towards environmental ends, the New York AG's office has never been shy about being innovative. Eliot Spitzer, the current Governor of New York and former AG, cut his teeth by reigning in corruption on Wall Street using the full authority of the state.

The news of the subpoenas comes as western Governors, including Colorado Governor Bill Ritter, last week discussed ways to promote more coal burning.

It's been said that with the use of "clean coal" technology, we can effectively safeguard our environment, but it's a specious statement at best. Even clean coal produces carbon dioxide and without any means to capture the carbon, it sounds like a global warming boondoggle at best.

With our fossil fuel economy falling by the wayside, we need new ways to harness renewables and to increase energy efficiency. With the New York AG taking strong action, we need to move away from fossil fuels, not just call them by a different name.