When it comes to global warming, coal is the gorilla in the room.

One thing you can say about nuclear power: the people who believe it is the silver bullet for America's energy problems never give up.

Bloomberg's $50 million is not going to revolutionize the electric power industry. But his willingness to fight is already inspiring others to see Big Coal differently.

In reality, Republicans have long been at war with clean energy. They have ridiculed investments in solar and wind power, bashed energy-efficiency standards, attacked state moves to promote renewable energy and championed laws that would enshrine taxpayer subsidies for fossil fuels while stripping them from wind and solar.

Some studies have shown that natural gas could, in fact, be worse for the climate than coal.

Nowhere has the political power of coal been more obvious than in presidential campaigns.

In reality, studies show that investments to spur renewable energy and boost energy efficiency generate far more jobs than oil and coal.