The battle over coal is, ahem, burning anew, with nothing much at stake except Nevada’s energy future and maybe Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s career…

By Jon Ralston

Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2007 | 7:16 a.m.

By Jon Ralston Las Vegas Sun

The battle over coal is, ahem, burning anew, with nothing much at stake except Nevada's energy future and maybe Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's career. Reid's pummeling of three proposed coal-fired plants in rural Nevada has stirred up some national heavy hitters, who are now advertising in the state to try to combat the senator's, ahem, scorched coal strategy. In fact, the world's largest coal company has hired local talent and is buying ads and a coal trade group has done the same. But Reid has his allies, too, including environmentalists and, recently, the state chapter of a national architect's group, which penned a position paper against the plants. I wonder if Reid will have a "don't put coal in your energy stocking" event to coincide with the holidays.