Its all about energy!

by Marcel F. Williams

Americans and especially independents are looking at the candidate with the best short term and long term solution to the emerging energy crisis. However, those of us who are also concerned about improving the environment and solving the problem of climate change, also want a solution that eventually eliminates all greenhouse gases put into the atmosphere. So Obama needs to address both-- as specifically as possible. And drilling for more oil off the coast-- is not the short term or the long term answer to this problem.

I believe that Obama needs to support the creation of a Federal Synfuel Corporation (FSC) for the production of carbon-neutral synthetic fuels. This corporation, IMO, should be partially funded by the annual sale of approximately five percent of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve which should provide billions of dollars annually. Since the money from the reserve would be used to produce clean domestic energy, we would not, in theory, be depleting the reserve but would be creating an clean fuel infrastructure that could make the US totally independent of foreign oil.

As I envision it, the FSC would provide county governments, states and municipalities matching funds for the construction of biowaste to fuel facilities for the production of gasoline, methanol, diesel fuel, and aviation fuel in exchange for ten percent of the revenue from the sale of these fuels. And this would provide even more revenue for the synfuel corporation to fund more facilities.

The FSC should also invest heavily in the emerging carbon dioxide from air extraction technologies that would allow us to use nuclear, solar, and wind energy to manufacture gasoline, methanol, diesel fuel, and aviation fuel through water electrolysis and and CO2 from air extraction. In this case, I believe that the FSC should set up their own facilities, purchasing off-peak electricity for the manufacture of synfuels. The revenue from the sale of these carbon-neutral fuels should be used to fund the construction of more facilities.

Finally, I believe that the FSC should start ordering its own nuclear, wind, and solar facilities for the production of synfuels. And, again, the revenues from the sale of carbon-neutral gasoline, diesel fuel, aviation fuel, and methanol could be used to fund other facilities until all of our transportation fuel needs completely replace petroleum in the US.

Once this occurs, then perhaps half of the annual revenues can be returned to the public in energy rebates (perhaps several thousand dollars a year for every American) while the other half could be used to construct more synfuel facilities for the export of clean carbon-neutral fuels to other countries which should gradually increase the amount of our annual energy rebates from the FSC.

A New Papyrus Publication