Talk:American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity

Promotional Tone
I added a template to notify readers and editors that this article seems to be more promotional ("our country", etc) than warranted in Wikipedia. If there's a more suitable template, please use that one instead and let me know why so I won't make the mistake again. If anyone thinks I'm reading too much into it, please let me know. Phoenix Song (talk) 21:27, 11 January 2009 (UTC)

Revert
I've reverted a series of changes which expanded the article by inserting lengthy, largely verbatim quotes from the ACCCE website. This article, like all of our encyclopedic coverage, should be based on independent, reliable third-party sources. Our goal is not to rehash the content of the company's website and press kit, but to summarize independent coverage of the organization. Additionally, as a more minor concern, the cut-and-pasting of large swaths of material from the company website raises some potential copyright issues. MastCell Talk 18:58, 18 December 2009 (UTC)


 * Following up on the note above, I think any objective observer of the article would note that it has significant problems, in its current form (Oct. 10). The article is not fully up to date, places WP:UNDUE on certain events, and in reading through the current iteration, it does not effectively tell what ACCCE actually is and does.


 * I recognize that the article has had a fairly contentious past, with others adding content that was clearly running afoul of both WP:COPYRIGHT and WP:NPOV policies -- as correctly pointed out by MastCell, above. In the interest of disclosure (per WP:COI), I see it as important to note upfront that I am not employed by ACCCE; however the organization happens to be a client of my employer. I expand on my approach in further detail on my userpage, but in short, my intention here is to be of help in bringing this article (along with others) up to Wikipedia's own standards. When I do have a thought on how to do so, specific to this article, I'll seek the input of others here on the article talk page first, only moving forward when adequate consensus is reached.  On that note I'll also pay specific attention to proposing revisions based on mentions of the subject in independent, reliable sources, to ensure that the article sounds encyclopedic throughout.


 * In the interest of starting with a small, straightforward update, I'd like to get the input of others on a proposed infobox I have put together at my sandbox. While all editors' feedback is of course welcome and valued equally, I'll make a specific attempt to get MastCell's thoughts - as I can see that you've played a significant and helpful role in keeping this article on track in recent times.  Regards, Carthan (talk) 01:48, 11 October 2010 (UTC)
 * After receiving input from another editor on my talk page, and having allowed a bit of time for others to weigh in, I've implemented the infobox as proposed above. I recognize that Wikipedia is a work in progress, and as such, remain open to continued dialogue. Cheers, Carthan (talk) 02:37, 14 October 2010 (UTC)

Members and history section
I will have a few more suggestions to make here in the near future; though, per my disclosure, above I see it as important to gain feedback and consensus from others instead of simply implementing these edits myself. First, concerning the background information and history, the first paragraph of the Members and history section currently reads as:


 * ACCCE is supported by 38 member organizations, including Peabody Energy, Southern Company, American Electric Power and CSX Transportation. The group's major efforts included an attempt to defeat Congressional legislation which proposed to regulate greenhouse gas emissions. ACCCE argued that such regulations would increase the price of energy and harm the economy. The ACCCE has been criticized by environmental advocacy groups such as the Sierra Club, which described ACCCE's membership as a "who's who of the worst polluters."

This is not inherently incorrect; however it does not effectively describe how the organization was formed. As such, I think this can be easier to understand by providing a bit more context and background on the formation and current organization of ACCCE in order to give a more comprehensive synopsis. Here is my proposed replacement:


 * The ACCCE began operations in 2008, the result of a combination of two organizations: the Center for Energy and Economic Development (CEED) and Americans for Balanced Energy Choices (ABEC). CEED had been founded in 1992 and since then had been involved in a wide range of climate and energy policies related to coal-based electricity.  ABEC, formed in 2000, had focused on consumer based advocacy programs concerning the use of coal-based electricity.  In 2008 these two groups were combined to form ACCCE, with the goal of focusing on both legislative and public advocacy efforts.  The main programs include the America’s Power campaign, launched in 2007 by ABEC, which had a significant presence during the 2008 elections as well as legislative efforts during the House of Representatives debate over the Waxman-Markey cap and trade legislation.


 * As of 2010, ACCCE is supported by 38 member organizations, including Peabody Energy, Southern Company, American Electric Power and CSX Transportation. The organization maintains headquarters in Alexandria, Virginia.

New reference cited above:


 * 1. Lavelle, Marianne (April 20, 2009) “The 'Clean Coal' Lobbying Blitz” The Center for Public Integrity. Retrieved October 4, 2010

I think this revised version provides for a more complete picture of the history and organization, includes additional citations from independent, WP:RS, and brings the section into greater compliance with WP:NPOV. If you agree with this proposed improvement, feel free to replace these two paragraphs with the existing first paragraph, or alternately, let me know if I can do so. Thanks, Carthan Carthan (talk) 17:48, 19 October 2010 (UTC)


 * Having received guidance on the proposed revision from user:Explicit's talk page (who suggested moving forward with this revision) and provided time for others to offer their input, I have gone ahead and implemented the revisions proposed above. Again, I recognize that Wikipedia is a work in progress and welcome any future discussion and am open to any thoughts or suggestions.  Cheers, Carthan (talk) 19:56, 21 October 2010 (UTC)

Proposed revision to bring this article up to WP standards
Just thought it would be beneficial to sum up the few (relatively minor) changes that were made (following consensus of others, as noted above) to the article over the past week or two:


 * 1) User:Carthan proposed and later added an infobox to make it easy for others to identify the subject of the article (added sources to substantiate dates, location, other elements of infobox).
 * 2) User:Carthan, following input from others, implemented a revision of the Members and history section to provide a sourced (and matter-of-fact) history of how the organization came about (added additional sources here as well).
 * 3) User:Beagel, after reviewing the initial revision of the Members and history section, separated out the Controversy section, which I think is appropriate for this article, given that it has in the past found its way into every section of the article. This also helps to improve readability.

With these revisions in place, I thought it best to take a step back and look at this article as it stands. After allowing time for it to settle for a few days, it became evident that a few additional updates are still necessary to bring this article up to Wikipedia's own standards. Instead of placing this revision text here on the talk page (which I think would make it difficult to decipher), I've put together a more recent proposed draft here: User:Carthan/CarthanSandbox2. It addresses the following:


 * Controversy section remains largely intact; just brought up to date with more recent information that was published about this topic. The current version of this article reads that "ACCCE declined further comment, citing the ongoing investigation." - however since that time the investigation has concluded, which I've reflected in this updated draft (and cited the New York Times article)
 * The main missing element of the existing article is that it does not tell what exactly it is that the organization does. Realizing that describing what ACCCE does must be done with utmost attention to phrasing choice (so as not to involve wording in a promotional tone) I've been careful do so using WP:RS that are independent of the subject, while also maintaining a neutral tone and weight consistent with WP:NPOV.
 * The existing Lead section - in its current form - consists of a drawn-out rendition of one incident, which is notable and important to mention (among other things) here; however the lead section is intended to be a succinct and concise summary. The revised version this portion to bring it up to WP:LEAD standards, so that it defines the topic and summarizes the (updated) body of the article with appropriate weight.

Would like to hear your thoughts on this proposed update (in draft form at User:Carthan/CarthanSandbox2), along with suggestions on how to best move forward. Cheers, Carthan (talk) 20:52, 26 October 2010 (UTC)


 * Per the recommendation of user:Antandrus here, the proposed revisions above are now reflected in the article. Recognizing that Wikipedia is a work in progress, further input is always welcome. Cheers, Carthan (talk) 19:22, 28 October 2010 (UTC)

Can changes be made to Info-box and Members and history section?
Hello, I am Bianca Prade, and as the VP of Digital Strategy for ACCCE, I recognize that I have a conflict of interest related to this article. There are a handful of instances where this article is out of date, so I've taken time to understand WP:COI and would like to propose a few changes for Wikipedia editors here to review:

In the info-box at the upper-right hand corner of this article:
 * Add a "Key people" field, and add "Mike Duncan, President and CEO" (Here is a source you can cite: http://cincinnati.com/blogs/nkypolitics/2012/09/07/gop-leader-mike-duncan-takes-over-clean-coal-group/)
 * Change the headquarters location to "Washington, D.C." (because ACCCE moved from Alexandria to D.C. Citing this source: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/in-the-loop/post/enviros-clean-coal-advocates-make-strange-bedfellows/2011/12/19/gIQAdASh4O_blog.html)

In the Members and history section:
 * In the 5th sentence, change "presence during the 2008 elections" to "presence during the 2008 and 2012 elections" (citing these additional sources: http://influencealley.nationaljournal.com/2012/10/coal-lobby-launches-ad-ahead-o.php and http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/27/us/politics/romney-seeks-virginia-coal-country-edge.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0)
 * In the second-to-last sentence of this section, change "As of 2010, ACCCE is supported by 38 member organizations" to "As of 2012, ACCCE is supported by 34 member organizations" (keeping the existing source which is http://www.cleancoalusa.org/about-us/members) (note: I understand that secondary sources like Newspapers are generally necessary to meet Wikipedia sourcing standards; however the number of member organizations is one case where the ACCCE website is more up-to-date than news articles.)
 * In the last sentence of this section, change "The organization maintains headquarters in Alexandria, Virginia" to "The organization maintains headquarters in Washington, D.C." (citing this source: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/in-the-loop/post/enviros-clean-coal-advocates-make-strange-bedfellows/2011/12/19/gIQAdASh4O_blog.html)

If any additional sources would be helpful, let me know and I would be happy to help identify them.

Since I have a conflict of interest, I would prefer not to edit myself. Is it possible for someone else to review and make these edits, so long as they line up with the Wikipedia style guide? Thank you, --BiancaPrade (talk) 16:13, 2 November 2012 (UTC)
 * ✅. Deor (talk) 12:43, 9 November 2012 (UTC)

The Dirty Dozen of Climate Change Denial: Question raised on WP:RSN and WP:NPOVN
There is a "special report" from Mother Jones[http://www.motherjones.com/special-reports/2009/12/dirty-dozen-climate-change-denial ] titled "The Dirty Dozen of Climate Change Denial" that is being used as a source on multiple pages, including this one. Please comment there, and perhaps we can come to a consensus that applies to all the pages where this is used.


 * Neutral point of view/Noticeboard


 * Reliable sources/Noticeboard

-CypherPunkyBrewster (talk) 20:09, 26 September 2015 (UTC)

External links modified
Hello fellow Wikipedians,

I have just modified one external link on American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity. Please take a moment to review my edit. If you have any questions, or need the bot to ignore the links, or the page altogether, please visit this simple FaQ for additional information. I made the following changes:
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20121011065655/http://cincinnati.com/blogs/nkypolitics/2012/09/07/gop-leader-mike-duncan-takes-over-clean-coal-group/ to http://cincinnati.com/blogs/nkypolitics/2012/09/07/gop-leader-mike-duncan-takes-over-clean-coal-group/

When you have finished reviewing my changes, you may follow the instructions on the template below to fix any issues with the URLs.

Cheers.— InternetArchiveBot  (Report bug) 16:24, 3 July 2017 (UTC)

External links modified (January 2018)
Hello fellow Wikipedians,

I have just modified 3 external links on American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity. Please take a moment to review my edit. If you have any questions, or need the bot to ignore the links, or the page altogether, please visit this simple FaQ for additional information. I made the following changes:
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20100924104546/http://www.publicintegrity.org/articles/entry/1284/ to http://www.publicintegrity.org/articles/entry/1284/
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20121101021507/http://influencealley.nationaljournal.com/2012/10/coal-lobby-launches-ad-ahead-o.php to http://influencealley.nationaljournal.com/2012/10/coal-lobby-launches-ad-ahead-o.php
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20100907011307/http://www.energypublisher.com/article.asp?id=19397 to http://www.energypublisher.com/article.asp?id=19397

When you have finished reviewing my changes, you may follow the instructions on the template below to fix any issues with the URLs.

Cheers.— InternetArchiveBot  (Report bug) 14:37, 24 January 2018 (UTC)