Western Fuels Association Inc. (WFA) filed suit in April against Turning Point Project, Friends of the Earth, Earth Island Institute, Ozone Action, Rainforest Action Network and the International Center for Technology Assessment in Wyoming federal district court, alleging commercial defamation under the Lanham Act.

The WFA claims its coal supply businesses have been damaged by a December 13 full page ad in "The New York Times" that advocated elimination of coal use in electricity generation. The suit claims that the ad promotes the commercial interests of companies that contribute to the six groups, including British Petroleum, which has made substantial investments in solar energy, and 3M Corporation, another supporter of alternative fuel.

The WFA suit claims the ad makes false and misleading factual representations regarding the effects of carbon dioxide emissions from the burning of coal and other fossil fuels, and an alleged human-induced overheating of the earth’s atmosphere.

"They are attempting to portray electric generation from fossil fuels as a significant health risk while, in fact, the opposite is true," says WFA manager Fred Palmer. He explains that the ad uses apocalyptic predictions concerning future climate that have no scientific support. The goal is to cast coal in an "unwholesome and unfavorable light" while promoting a competing product, renewable energy, for electric generation, claims the lawsuit.