After the PowerShift '09 rally in front of the Capitol, hundreds of students marched on DC's coal-fired power plant in support of clean energy, green jobs and climate action. It was an amazing show of strength that followed a remarkable weekend of support for global warming legislation.

Across the street, the Competitive Enterprise Institute organized a counter protest in support of "clean" coal. As the Reality Campaign has been pointing out, there is no such thing as "clean" coal right now. And the CEI has good reason to keep us hooked on fossil fuels -- in the last decade alone, CEI has received more than $2 million from Exxon Mobil.

But I guess all that money doesn't go as far as it used to. Only 19 people showed up. In fact, there were almost as many police officers (14) protecting them as there were "protesters." Despite their talking points professing to support jobs, their signs told a different story. They personally attacked Al Gore as a "hypocrite" and denied the scientific consensus on climate change.

To see where the momentum lies in 2009, all you have to do is look at the two groups side-by-side. The small Exxon Mobil-sponsored group (pictured first) could only stand by silently and watch as a clean energy future marched past: