Governor David Paterson has a funny definition of clean energy.

Just last week he rolled out a legislative package that he said would invest in clean energy technologies, protect the environment, and so on. The problem is, he included a measure that would clear the way for a pilot "clean coal" - he used the much less controversial "carbon capture and sequestration" phrasing - power plant in Jamestown. The state provided about $6 million in funding to the project last year. Project leaders are seeking millions of dollars in federal grants, too, says a press release from the governor's office.

The basic premise is this: burning coal generates carbon dioxide, which can then be captured and shoved into some geological formation underground, thereby keeping the gas out of the atmosphere.

The legislation would give the state the authority to site a carbon dioxide pipeline and to allow the injection of carbon dioxide deep into the earth's surface.

So Paterson wants to try a carbon sequestration project. OK, fine, somebody's bound to try carbon capture - it does have some potential good uses, even though nobody can say for sure whether the carbon dioxide will stay where it's deposited. But leave coal out of it.

"Clean coal" is a huge misnomer that gets tossed around far too often. The carbon capture technology is unproven, but that's the least of it. Even though carbon dioxide generated from burning coal can theoretically be captured and sequestered, it still requires the mining of coal. The environmental damage caused by coal mining is well documented, as are other ill effects. That makes for a most unclean energy source. And it's not renewable, either.

Hence the rallying cry of the enviros: There's no such thing as clean coal.

As environmental groups have said time and time again, money invested in "clean coal" would be better invested in other areas -particularly energy efficiency and conservation. Coal plans with carbon capture and sequestration technology are expensive; the Jamestown project has, by most reports, a $300-plus million price tag.