Brian Schweitzer replies

In a DailyKos diary, Jerome a Paris (who focuses on energy issues) took on Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer's recent New York Times op-ed about making synthetic fuels from coal using the Fischer-Tropsch process. Jerome had some probing questions for the governor, and today, Schweitzer responded to Jerome in his own diary. He doesn't exactly answer Jerome's actual specific questions, but he seems to be taking people's concerns seriously.
Some of the highlights of Schweitzer's claims include:
  • Water needs, traditionally an enormous hurdle, have been all but eliminated with the advent of a process that actually produces water with its excess hydrogen and oxygen.
  • Carbon emissions are a particularly important consideration, because unchecked resource exploitation will destabilize our planet. But, the elements not used in hydrocarbon synthesis are sequestered, making the production and combustion of synfuel remarkably carbon-free.
  • While solid wastes are a concern, it is certainly better to sequester these toxins, and sell or dispose of them in a controlled manner, than to release them into air and water as is done now.