Reply #9: I think anyone who supports large scale CTL should be shot.

[GliderGuider]

Following the peak in oil production, everyone is going to be looking for liquid transportation fuel options, and this one is going to bubble to the top of the slag-heap. It's a "dubious" prospect from a number of points of view. The problems with mining have already been mentioned. There is also the problem that the few commercialized FT processes in use require natural gas as a feedstock along with coal. Then there is the problem of CO2 emissions from the process itself. Here is a commentary from Wikipedia on that problem:

One issue that has yet to be addressed in the emerging discussion about large-scale development of synthetic fuels is the enormous increase in primary energy use and carbon emissions inherent in conversion of gaseous and solid carbon sources to a usable liquid form, assuming the energy used to drive the process comes from burning coal or hydrocarbon fuels. Recent work by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory indicates that full fuel cycle greenhouse gas emissions for coal-based synfuels are nearly twice as high as their petroleum-based equivalent. Emissions of other pollutants are vastly increased as well, although many of these emissions can be captured during production. Carbon sequestration has been suggested as a mitigation strategy for greenhouse gas emissions. However, while sequestration is already in limited use, the science and economics around large-scale sequestration strategies are, as yet, unconvincing.

Somebody needs to pull Mr. Obama out of the coal industry's pocket and give him a good smack upside the head.