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A millionaire environmentalist is buying into coal with a twist he believes can turn the beleaguered black fossil fuel at least partially green.
Tom Clarke, who made a fortune in health care, recently announced a plan to buy bankrupt St. Louis-based Patriot Coal for $400 million, following a major investment in coal by the billionaire liberal activist George Soros. But Clarke said he is not simply bargain-shopping in an industry wounded by federal policies and the emergence of American oil and gas. He said he is looking to transform the industry, and intends to sell his coal at a 10 percent premium -- which he will then spend on planting trees.
"My No. 1 priority is not to stop burning coal because that's not going to happen for 30 to 50 years," Clarke told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. "We really see this as an opportunity -- not to expand coal, it's going to shrink anyway. But let's make sure we can at least keep people employed in Central Appalachia with this offset.”
