It takes approx 1 year to build coal to oil facilities and biomass to oil facilities. We have enough coal and biomass to produce 150% of the total oil that we consume annually not just the amount that we import. If we did this we would not only produce all of our own oil but we would be able to export oil also. Legislate huge tax breaks(1 year) Build synthetic oil facilities(another year). Done.

HaraldHardrada on January 8, 2008 at 10:18 PM

Somehow I doubt you have any idea what you are talking about.

Myth: Alternative energy sources are environmentally benign

Advocates of alternative energy sources, commonly believe that these energy supplies have very little impact on the environment. Sunlight as a source of energy would seem to be an ideal energy source with virtually no negative environmental consequences. Or, converting a relatively more polluting source of energy such as coal into a less polluting liquid fuel appears to be a good exchange.

Reality:

Converting coal to some liquid fuel form which could be used in transportation is possible but to do so to the extent of replacing oil would involve the greatest mining endeavor the world has ever seen. It would require strip mining vast quantities of western land each year. If alternative energy considerations do not include coal, but rather are thought of in terms of solar energy, biomass, nuclear power, wind, hydropower, tidal, ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC) or shale oil, they also have environmental impacts.

These have been discussed in more detail in Chapter 22, Mineral Development and the Environment, but some of the environmental problems are briefly summarized here. Solar energy collectors in numbers sufficient to be significant in our energy supplies would use very large amounts of land. Mining the materials used to make these collectors would have an impact. Because the collectors would not have an infinite life, there would be the continual problem of replacement, involving more mining operations.

doriangrey on January 8, 2008 at 10:34 PM