U.S. coal reserves key to national and energy security.

• Author: Stearns, Cliff
• Position: Symposium: Creating a Legal Framework for Sustainable Energy

Our nation's reliance on imported energy sources undermines our national and economic security. While we need to pursue new sources of energy, especially using technology, it is important to note that America has an abundance of coal. There are new and old technologies that make coal more efficient and more environmentally sound to use. In this Article, I outline the economic and national security risks of our reliance on imports, note the extent of our coal reserves, describe various advances in improving coal use, and focus on the special benefits of coal-to-liquid technology.

Energy is a crucial resource: it fuels our transportation, powers our factories, and heats our homes. As the economy and population of the United States grow, so does the demand for energy.

Throughout most of its history, the United States has produced as much energy as it has consumed. That started to change in the 1960s, with the United States importing more of its energy needs. Some states like California and Florida have gone through the same transformation. (1)

The United States is addicted to fossil fuels, with petroleum leading the way. A breakdown of the sources of energy consumed in the United States reveals fossils fuels (petroleum, coal, and natural gas) at the top accounting for 85.9 quadrillion British thermal units (BTUs), dwarfing nuclear energy (8.1 quadrillion BTUs), followed by renewable energies including hydroelectric, biomass, geothermal, solar, and wind (a combined 6 quadrillion BTUs). Petroleum alone accounts for 40.4 quadrillion BTUs a year consumed in the United States. (2)

The United States is addicted to imported petroleum. Increasingly, we are also reliant on imported natural gas. Our nation is the world's largest importer of oil; we currently rely on other countries to provide 10 million barrels per day. (3) By 2030, America will get 16.4 million barrels per day (61% of its oil) from overseas. (4)

The growth in the economies of other nations will continue to increase the global demand for oil, tightening supplies and raising prices. Domestic and world demand for oil will likely increase rapidly in the next two decades. "Between 2004 and 2025, U.S. demand is projected to grow 24 percent (from 21 to 26 million barrels per day) and total world demand is expected to increase by 34 percent." (5)

With oil prices projected to steadily increase and with our imports rising, our economic situation is set to deteriorate as we send even more hundreds of billions of dollars overseas every year ($1 trillion every three years). This reliance on imported oil is a growing economic hindrance. In 2006, the United States spent $217 billion on imported oil, and over half of that money went to OPEC nations such as Saudi Arabia, Venezuela, Nigeria, Iraq, and Algeria. (6)

In addition, this dependency entails serious national security threats. The Middle East is rich in petroleum resources, and some 40% of the world's oil supplies move through the Persian Gulf, including 20% destined for America. In addition to its oil and natural gas wealth, the Middle East is a region of conflict and instability. The ongoing war in Iraq, Iran's nuclear ambitions, unrest in Lebanon, and radical Islamic movements all undermine regional security. (7)

In February 2006, terrorists with ties to al-Qaeda failed in an attack to destroy the Abqaiq processing facility in Saudi Arabia, which each day processes 6.8 million barrels of oil (two-thirds of all Saudi production) for export. (8) Experts have noted that a successful attack on Saudi oil facilities could reduce production to four million barrels per day or less for several weeks, "which would have disastrous results for the global economy.: (9) Clearly, terrorists understand the nexus between global security and oil security.

Global reliance on oil also results in shifting geopolitics and the formation of new alliances. In an effort to enhance access to oil supplies, China has developed relationships with Iran and Sudan, global pariahs. France and Germany, looking at their energy imports from Russia, are less confrontational with their neighbor to the east. (10) The same problem is emerging with respect to natural gas supplies, with the prospect of a natural gas cartel under the control of Russia, Iran and Qatar. (11)

The global community has turned a blind eye toward the transgressions of oil-rich nations as a matter of convenience. In addition, the Middle East continues to dominate the world oil markets, providing a major role in global economic and global security to a troubled region.

This, then, is our situation: we send hundreds of billions of dollars overseas to feed our oil habit. These funds enrich hostile nations and place global security in peril. Reducing our reliance on imported oil and natural gas would enhance our economic and national security. There are many other sources of energy that would reduce our foreign dependency, both the proven and the experimental.

However, in looking at the energy sources of the future, we need to be cognizant of the current situation, which will be slow to evolve. As we move toward innovative fuel sources, fossil fuels will continue to dominate in supplying our...