The Oil Drum

After having tackled tar sands and climate change, 60 Minutes took on coal liquefaction:

The governor of Montana says he can turn the billions of tons of coal under his state into enough diesel fuel to greatly reduce America's dependence on foreign oil.

And there's an added benefit, says Gov. Brian Schweitzer: the United States will be sticking it to the "rats and crooks" who run the countries that sell oil to us.

We've discussed Mr. Schweitzer and the Fischer-Tropsch method before:

• Montana could supply the whole US with fuel!
  
• Brian Schweitzer replies
  
• A Discussion with Governor Brian Schweitzer
  

(Hat tip: Daily Kos)

Earlier today I participated in a conference call with Governor Brian Schweitzer of Montana. You'll recall that we previously discussed his plan to convert lots of Montana coal to liquids (and again here). This conference call was at the behest of the Democratic Governors Association, who are organizing a series of calls between Democratic governors and bloggers - and they invited the Oil Drum. Five bloggers showed up, listened to the governor's spiel, and then got to ask a few questions. Here are my impressions.

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.