'War On Coal' Heats Up

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has launched an unprecedented campaign in state legislatures and courthouses across the country to stop President Barack Obama's "war on coal."

The Kentucky Republican is planning to bring down a series of Environmental Protection Agency proposals aimed at slashing carbon pollution from coal-fired power plants, a major contributor to the nation's high levels of greenhouse gas emissions, according to The New York Times.

The senator sent out a letter on Thursday to all the governors containing detailed legal advice on the reasons why states should not confirm to Obama's rules, while warning them that the president was "allowing the E.P.A. to wrest control of a state's energy policy."

The new regulations could result in the closure of hundreds of coal-fired plants and the loss of thousands of jobs, as Obama continues his controversial policy of switching the country's dependence on fossil fuels to power sources he believes are less damaging to climate change, namely wind and solar energy.

In the rare event of a majority leader leading a lobbying battle in Washington, McConnell is championing the fight against the regulations because his state is one of the leading coal-producing regions in the country and could lose countless jobs.

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