We Shouldn’t Ignore Coal (Sen. Craig Thomas)

S. 987 simply ignores coal-to-liquids fuel. I believe liquid fuel from coal will be a tremendous domestic resource to reduce our dependence on foreign sources. Some folks say that coal-based fuel will create more greenhouse gas emissions than our current gasoline – that’s simply wrong. The only way that would be true is if we did nothing to capture and sequester the carbon emissions. I am just as supportive of addressing the greenhouse gas emissions of coal-to-liquids as I am about getting a commercial size CTL plant up and running in the United States. Folks want to believe that biofuels are carbon neutral – they are not. It takes a tremendous amount of energy to produce biofuels — diesel to run the tractors, natural gas to produce the fertilizer, and even more diesel to run the trucks and trains that deliver it. We know we can’t put ethanol into existing pipelines. Our infrastructure is not adequate to begin to deliver fuels such as ethanol in pipelines. We must reduce our reliance on foreign energy, become better stewards of the environment, and utilize our domestic sources, including coal, in an efficient and affordable way. I don’t believe that S. 987 goes far enough toward achieving those goals.