Coal: The Gas of Tomarrow

One might have a hard time believing that several major auto manufacturers are on the verge of bankruptcy with all the cars that are out congesting the roadways. With record numbers of cars on the roads, the demand for gasoline and petroleum in general has risen. This high demand mixed with political uncertainty in the Middle East has caused the price of petroleum reach record highs a year ago topping off at around four dollars a gallon. These high gas prices and the slowdown of the economy put a strain on the lower and middle class families, with more of their discretionary income going toward fueling their cars. During this time there was also a push to research more into finding an alternative fuel that could replace oil.
While many people are looking toward corn and other methods to generate fuel, the answer could have been under our feet the whole time. That’s right. Coal could be the answers to our dependency on foreign oil. The process is called coal-to-liquid and it takes coal and gasifies it and then it’s used to create a liquid fuel which is capable of powering our cars. With this technology we don’t have to depend on other countries for our oil supply. Also, another advantage of using coal is that we have plenty of it. Estimates say that here in the United States our coal deposits are more than that of all the world’s oil deposits combined. This means that the U.S. has the ability to produce a reliable supply of gasoline which will lead to stable fuel prices that are not affected by the whims of OPEC.
Although coal-to-liquid does have its benefits, the system is not perfect. Critics of the coal-to-liquid say that the burning this synthetic fuel is bad for the environment. They claim that burning these fuels emits about twice the harmful greenhouse gases that is produced burning traditional petroleum fuels. Also, if we were to use coal to fuel our cars we would have to mine more coal. This could have potential negative effects on communities where mountaintop removal and other destructive mining techniques are used.
I believe that using coal to produce fuels for our cars is a great idea. I would also help with the current economic state. Building these plants would be a costly venture, but in the long run would be well worth the money spent. Not to mention that the increased demand for coal would also provide jobs in communities who are already poverty stricken. It’s said that for every one job created in the coal industry, seven others open up in supporting industries. Although the fact that coal-to-liquid fuels may emit more greenhouse gases than petroleum based fuels the economic benefits outweigh the environmental cost.