The world is an ecosystem that ignores national boubndaries. We have only a few choices. We can abolish all national soverinty and develop a highly efficient global energy standard. We can be smug and make ourselves a clean, non-emmitting country and watch the rest of the world poison the planet or we can refine all of the energy technologies so that we can assit each nation in developing the energy forms that best satisfy their geographic, financial and technological realities. As much as I admire the vision of John Lennon, option one is not really an option. Option two serves no purpose other that to assure us honorable mention in the earth's obituary. Option three requires the US and other "blessed" nations to do the science and to help every other country on earth to achieve its best and cleanest energy alternatives. We can not dictate, we can not lead by example; neither of these have worked.

So please put aside the bitter winner-loser debates and the failed non-proliferation policies and let's get busy working to optimize each and every energy alternative and make that information, technology and hardware available to all. When it comes to energy alternatives, politicians have said, "we need them all" and for once, truer words could not be uttered. You may say I am a dreamer but when it comes to the air we breathe and the water we drink "we" are all one.

The reality is, as much as we would like to turn coal into liquid fuel (considering our vast resources of coal) using coal in any manner generates a disproportionate level of pollution and CO2 emissions and is not a long term sustainable solution, and there is no technology at present or on the horizon that will change that equation.

Previous comment is perplexing, as there is no threat to national security by canceling the coal-to-gas project.