Before the oil runs out: the search for alternatives – Other fossil resources, like coal, rather than green energy, may have the inside track.

To replace oil, the US needs a fuel that can power aircraft, trains, and cars. Other fossil resources, rather than green energy, may have the inside track.

When Adolf Hitler sparked World War II, the German war machine faced a daunting challenge: It had almost no petroleum.

Despite the shortage – which some considered fatal – a powerful Nazi blitzkrieg quickly rolled back the armies of Poland, France, the Low Countries, and Britain, and it thrust far into the Soviet Union. Hundreds of German bombers pounded Britain, and swarms of German fighter planes fought off Allied attackers.

How did Hitler do it? With coal.

Operating 25 synthetic fuel plants, Germans converted their country’s brown coal into high-quality diesel fuel and gasoline. Coal provided over 92 percent of Germany’s aviation fuel and half of all its petroleum needs.

What worked in wartime Germany could hold lessons for the United States. With only 2 percent of the world’s proven oil reserves but teeming with coal, the US could turn its carbon bounty into synthetic fuels. If they’re cheap enough, synfuels could power America’s autos, trucks, trains, tractors, and aircraft far into the future and cut the nation’s reliance on Middle East oil. The US already relies on coal, natural gas, hydropower, and even windmills to heat and provide electricity for homes, offices, and factories. But for transportation – a linchpin of modern economies and national security – synfuels from coal, tar sands, and other ancient fossil deposits represent one of the few alternatives to oil.

By John Dillin | Correspondent of The Christian Science Monitor

Full Story: http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0922/p11s01-usec.html?s=hns

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Coal rush – Montana Gov. Schweitzer’s plan to convert coal to gas http://www.matr.net/article-15964.html