The YouTube audience is currently eating up comments by Sen. Majority Leader Harry Reid that burning fossil fuels creates health hazards.

Reid’s comments however were phrased more bluntly than that: “Coal makes us sick,” he said.

That pill isn’t settling well with a number of folks. To people already skeptical of global warming, like this gentleman, Reid’s comments and his choice of words apparently seems like another dubious claim. Others just think that with energy prices the way they are, ignoring any source is wrong.

On the other hand, there are plenty of people who believe that fossil fuel consumption and its related pollution has an impact on air quality thus heath. And others are skeptical that coal can ever be “clean.”

I’m not wading into that debate, but I wonder how Reid’s comments will play, say in southern Illinois, where folks sit of some of the U.S.’ biggest coal reserves. And then you have the issue that both Sen. Barack Obama and Sen. John McCain support “clean coal” and “carbon capture” programs.

(Just last week, I posted on the whole idea of FutureGen, the now scuttled next generation power plant that had been planned for central Illinois.)

On the other hand, more and more folks are buying hybrid cars and calling for new environmental regulation.  

Anybody have some thoughts? Reid’s clip is below.