Tell your Congressmen NO to coal-to-liquid federal subsidies

Taxpayers for Common Sense wants us to write our own U.S. Senators and U.S. Representative, asking them to decline federal subsidy dollars for coal-to-liquid plants. The private sector deems the industry too risky; so, why shouldn't the American taxpayer as well? Here's what TCS has to say; then, please take action by going to their webpage:

Stop Coal-to-Liquids Subsidies
Since the 1930s, the coal industry has made off with $60 billion in taxpayer subsidies, and now they are asking for even more to support the coal-to-liquid (CTL) industry. CTL is a chemical technology developed in the 1920s to turn coal into a liquid fuel. The coal industry has stayed away from this costly and risky industry in the past, but are willing to take the plunge only if taxpayers step in and provide billions of dollars in subsidies, price floors, and loans. Here's why CTL fuel is a bad investment for taxpayers:
• Replacing just 10% of our county's oil consumption with CTL fuels would cost taxpayers $70 billion in construction costs alone, according to an MIT report.
• CTL plants can cost over $6 billion dollars to build and around $350 million per year to operate. • Carbon sequestration technology would be required to contain the large amount of greenhouse gas emissions CTL plants emit. Unfortunately, carbon sequestration is an unproven and costly technology, which could end up adding more than $100 million in plant operating costs.
• CTL fuel is only competitive when the price of oil is high. If oil prices drop below $55 per barrel, taxpayers could end up being forced to spend billions of dollars buying uneconomical fuel. • Congress would be repeating costly mistakes of the past. In the late 1970s, lawmakers tried to jumpstart the CTL industry by creating the $15 billion Synthetic Fuels Corporation. Volatile oil prices caused the synthetic and CTL fuel industries to go bankrupt within five years.
The government should not waste taxpayer money supporting a risky industry that private companies have avoided for years. Send a letter urging your representative to oppose costly CTL subsidies in the appropriations and energy bills!