While the U.S. going full speed ahead in thier quest for Energy Independence, it is important to make sure they are not heading straight for another pothole. As Bush stated in his Jan 2007 State of the Union address, America must decrease their reliance on foreign oil through alternative means. So far, most of this change has come through biofuels, mainly corn-based. They have increased their targets since January.
Now, some companies are trying to brand liquid coal as an “alternative fuel”. While it may be an alternative to oil, it is significantly worse for the environment. Using techniques from Nazi Germany (just to make it sound extra evil) when they were cut off from oil by Allies, coal can be processed into diesel fuel. Yet it produces nearly twice the GHGs as normal gasoline. It was stated that as Prius running on CTL (Coal to Liquid) would produce nearly the same amount of carbon as a full-size Hummer running on gasoline.
Now here is the scary part: One particular coal company bragged on their website that by converting much of their production to CTL would increase their value by 1,250%. Coal producers tend to be very generous to members of the Senate. Interesting things happen when the stakes are high.
Source: http://www.sierraclub.org/sierra/200709/lol.asp
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