We've berated you more than enough for your long-ago excursion of editorial fancy, prior to last year's election, entitled "Obama No Friend Of Coal".
We just wanted to reaffirm our President's support of coal-to-liquid technology by submitting a piece from the New York Times, published back when our President was just an "Illinois Democrat".
Some excerpts:
"The technology to convert coal into liquid fuel is well-established, and the fuel can be used in conventional diesel cars and trucks, as well as jet engines, boats and ships. Industry executives contend that the fuels can compete against gasoline if oil prices are about $50 a barrel or higher."
(Oil closed Friday, November 6, 2009, at $77.43 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. - JtM)
"Representative Rick Boucher, a Virginia Democrat whose district is dominated by coal mining, is writing key sections of the House energy bill. In the Senate, champions of coal-to-liquid fuels include Barack Obama, the Illinois Democrat, and Jim Bunning of Kentucky and Larry Craig of Idaho, both Republicans."
In some recent submissions to the West Virginia Coal Association's R&D Blog, we documented for you the commissioning of a coal conversion plant in Illinois. It is where it is, in all likelihood, because of Obama, and his sponsorship, along with Kentucky's Sen. Bunning, of the "Coal-To-Liquid Fuel Promotion Act of 2006".
We just wondered: Do you, or does anyone else, know what the status of that Act is; or, what has been accomplished because of it? And, don't we now have any elected reps in West Virginia or Pennsylvania who might want to be insulted by the NY Times - by being referred to as a "champion of coal-to-liquid fuels"?
Perhaps as importantly, don't we have any journalists who might aspire to a winning a similar title?
PS: To document for you where our President stands on the issue of converting our abundant domestic coal into the liquid fuels we need, we submit the following quotes from President Obama. We believe the citations to be accurate. Note, especially, the President's statement: "We already have the technology to do this (coal-to-liquid - JtM) in a way that's both clean and efficient. What we've been lacking is the political will."
Again: "What we've been lacking is the political will."
- "We must continue down the path of reducing our reliance on foreign oil. Like corn to ethanol for gasoline engines, we also can make soybeans, animal fats, and coal into diesel. We have the technology, we have the interest, and we have the need. We just need the federal commitment... Creating a Renewable Diesel Standard will help alleviate diesel costs, create jobs, promote rural development, and help insulate our economy from oil shocks. And it will create new markets for Illinois soybeans and Illinois coal. We should pass this legislation immediately to take another concrete step towards energy independence." Statement from Obama's Senate office in November 2005, upon introducing legislation calling for a Renewable Diesel Standard that would require 2 billion gallons of diesel alternatives by the year 2015.[17]
- "The people I meet in town hall meetings back home would rather fill their cars with fuel made from coal reserves in Southern Illinois than with fuel made from crude reserves in Saudi Arabia. We already have the technology to do this in a way that's both clean and efficient. What we've been lacking is the political will. This common sense, bipartisan legislation will greatly increase investment in coal-to-liquid fuel technology, which will create jobs and lessen our dependence on foreign oil. Illinois Basin Coal has more untapped energy potential than the oil reserves of Saudi Arabia and Kuwait combined. Instead of enriching the Saudis, we can use these reserves to bring a renaissance for Illinois coal." Statement by Obama on introducing S.3325, the "Coal-To-Liquid Fuel Promotion Act of 2006," with Senator Jim Bunning (R-KY), in June 2006. [18]
- "Illinois basin coal has more untapped energy potential than the oil reserves of Saudi Arabia and Kuwait combined. Senator Obama believes it is crucial that we invest in technologies to use these resources to reduce our dependence on foreign oil." Statement by Obama spokesman Tommy Vietor, in January 2007.[19]
- "Senator Obama supports research into all technologies to help solve our climate change and energy dependence problems, including shifting our energy use to renewable fuels and investing in technology that could make coal a clean-burning source of energy. However, unless and until this technology is perfected, Senator Obama will not support the development of any coal-to-liquid fuels unless they emit at least 20% less life-cycle carbon than conventional fuels. If an amendment is offered on the Senate floor that would provide incentives for - or mandate the use of - coal-to-liquid fuels without these environmental safeguards, Senator Obama will oppose the amendment." June 2007 email from Obama's Senate office to environmental groups, clarifying his position on coal-to-liquid fuels in light of the bill he co-sponsored with Senator Bunning.[20][21]
- "Achieving energy independence and significantly reducing greenhouse gas emissions are two of the greatest challenges America faces. With the right technological innovations, coal has the potential to be a cleaner burning, domestic alternative to imported oil. However we are not there yet. The Bunning amendment would have been premature in requiring the production of billions of gallons of coal-to-liquids without providing strong environmental safeguards to ensure that this new fuel alleviates, not worsens, our climate crisis. The Tester amendment, on the other hand, gives us the tools to determine whether we can make coal into a clean fuel source. We cannot solve the climate crisis without addressing coal – which generates half of America's electricity... Moving forward, I believe we should only invest in coal-to-liquid fuels that burn at least 20 percent less lifecycle carbon emissions than conventional fuels. I also introduced a low-carbon fuel standard to mandate a 10 percent reduction in emissions for all vehicle fuels by 2020, with incentives for producers to make their fuels more efficient and to exceed that level, without prejudging which fuel will turn out to be the best for our environment and our economy." Statement released by Senate Office of Obama regarding the Coal-to-Liquids bill under consideration by Congress, in June 2007.[22]
Even though the President is always careful to express caveats about climate issues and Carbon Dioxide emissions, he might not yet know that his Department of Defense has, as we've documented, through proxies, patented the technologies that will allow us to capture Carbon Dioxide and recycle it into even more liquid fuels, and valuable raw materials for our chemicals and plastics manufacturing industries.
Perhaps someone should tell him.
Oh, and don't forget that the state where Obama was just another "Democrat", Illinois, is now home to the Rocketdyne coal conversion facility, in Des Plaines, we recently documented for you.