What do you get when you combine Academy Award-winning directors and a group trying to promote its environmental agenda? The amusing 30-second spot seen here.

The Reality Coalition has been going after proponents of so-called "clean coal," including the American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity. So for its latest television ad, the third since last December, the group enlisted Ethan and Joel Coen, screenwriters and directors whose films are known for their twisted, quirky sensibility and engaging if not unusual cinematography.

(The Reality Coalition is a project of the Alliance for Climate Protection, Sierra Club, the League of Conservation Voters, National Wildlife Federation, and the Natural Resources Defense Council. The ACCCE represents the U.S. coal industry but is a front, according to FrontGroups.org, a joint site from Consumer Reports WebWatch and the Center for Media and Democracy.)

The Reality Coalition doesn't deny that clean coal might someday be a reality—the group just doesn't think it exists yet, as noted on its Web site: "In reality, there is no such thing as 'clean' coal in America today. Coal cannot be called 'clean' until its CO₂ emissions are captured and stored safely."

For its part, the ACCCE says, "Thanks to an abundance of coal, combined with American ingenuity and advanced technologies, we don't have to choose between affordable energy and improved air quality. That's right— electricity from coal is getting even cleaner every day. . . . Today's coal-based electricity generating fleet is 70% cleaner than it was in 1970 (based upon emissions per unit of energy produced)."

We'll leave it to you choose a side in this heated battle. For now, the Reality Coalition gets a thumbs-up for its latest production.—Steven H. Saltzman