COAL IS NOW 1/5 THE PRICE OF OIL

It's time to use the coal we got - and the USA has more than just about anybody.

The only thing holding us back is the CO2/AGW MYTH - and the Left!

If we MERELY ANNOUNCED that we were going to start building more coal-burning power-plants, and nuclear plants and begin oil drilling off the coast of CA and FL then oil would IMMEDIATELY drop in price.

REPEAT: The only thing holding us back the Left and the Dems.

I BLAME GORE!

BLOOMBERG NEWS:

Gore Nightmare Wins as Europe Pays to Ship U.S. Coal (Update1)
By Christopher Martin

Nov. 5 (Bloomberg) -- Now that the price of coal is at a historic low relative to oil, there's no stopping consumers and producers alike from embracing Al Gore's nightmare.

A ton of U.S. coal is so cheap at about $47 that European utilities will pay $50 to ship it across the Atlantic, according to Galbraith's Ltd., a 263-year-old London shipbroker. While oil and coal cost the same as recently as 1998, West Texas Intermediate crude is five times more expensive after climbing to a record $96.24 on Nov. 1.

Peabody Energy Corp., Consol Energy Inc. and Arch Coal Inc., the three biggest U.S. coal companies, forecast the largest increase in exports in 20 years, degrading the call for a moratorium on coal plants by former U.S. Vice President and this year's Nobel Peace Prize winner Al Gore. Coal use worldwide has grown 27 percent since 2002, three times faster than crude, said BP Plc. U.S. East Coast coal has risen 71 percent, while oil tripled on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

"Coal is by far the cheapest fuel because there's no price on how much damage it causes,'' said John Holdren, a Harvard University professor of environmental science and director of the Woods Hole Research Center in Falmouth, Massachusetts. ``Unless you get policies to put a price on carbon dioxide and other emissions, no other plants can compete.''

U.S. coal prices are equal to $1.98 for each million British thermal units of energy, compared with $12.51 for fuel oil and $6.91 for natural gas, data compiled by Bloomberg show. A million British thermal units is the equivalent of eight gallons of gasoline.

Coal Companies

"There is a huge advantage with coal, and this will continue indefinitely,'' said Gianfilippo Mancini, the head of fuel purchasing for Enel SpA, Italy's largest power company, which is spending 4 billion euros ($5.8 billion) to convert oil-fed plants to run on coal.

Gore, 59, said five months ago the U.S. should adopt a ``complete moratorium'' on new coal-fed power plants unless all of the carbon dioxide from them can be buried underground. Government efforts to subsidize coal as an alternative to oil would be a ``serious mistake,'' he said in a June 1 interview on ``Conversations with Judy Woodruff'' on Bloomberg Television.

U.S. coal exports to Europe for the first nine months of this year were 11.4 million tons, up 15 percent from the same period in 2006, according to the U.S. Energy Department. Coal generates 41 percent of the world's man-made carbon dioxide emissions, blamed for the warming of the Earth's climate, Gulf of Mexico hurricanes and rising sea levels.

Stock Forecasts

The increased demand for coal boosted Peabody, Arch and Consol 36 percent from Aug. 3 to Nov. 2 in New York trading, according to Bloomberg's U.S. coal index. Among Wall Street analysts, 76 percent recommend buying shares of Peabody and 62 percent recommend Consol, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Consol shares may gain 41 percent to $78, forecasts David M. Khani, the head of research at Friedman, Billings, Ramsey & Co. whose call on the stock last year provided 50 percent returns for investors, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. He expects Peabody to increase 25 percent to $64 and Arch Coal by 48 percent to $58. "Consol is in a great position to take a big share of the new demand from Europe,'' said Bill Wolf, an analyst at John T. Boyd & Co. in Pittsburgh, which advises coal buyers and mining companies.

Consol operates a port in Baltimore that can handle more than twice the 6.3 million tons it shipped last year.

Pittsburgh-based Consol will open its largest metallurgical coal mine by Jan. 1, with as much as 5 million tons of annual production available to overseas buyers.

Climate Changes

More than 1,000 coal-fed power plants will be built in the next five years, mostly in China and India, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. China, the world's biggest coal producer, became a net importer for the first time this year, taking supplies from Indonesia, Australia and South Africa and reducing the amount available for Europe

"If those 1,000 plants get built without any controls on carbon emissions, we will careen into unmanageable changes in our climate,'' the 63-year-old Holdren said in an interview. ``We need to motivate carbon capture and storage through policy. We will still be using coal, but in much smarter ways. It doesn't have to be an economy buster."

India needs to add 40,000 megawatts a year, or 30 percent of current capacity, to maintain its 8 percent economic growth, said Jayarama Chalasani, director at Mumbai-based Reliance Energy Ltd., India's second-biggest utility.

"Growth Is There"

"What we're seeing right now is just great,'' said Sipho Nkosi, chief executive officer of Exxaro Resources Ltd., the South African coal and zinc producer. The rally in prices ``will continue because if you look at the projections in China, the growth there is just phenomenal. Whether you're talking America, Europe, Africa, Australia, Asia, all economies are doing well. The growth is there."

To be sure, proposed U.S. coal plants may not be completed because of regulatory and environmental opposition. Kansas regulators last month rejected a permit for a coal-fueled plant because its carbon emissions were deemed a health hazard.

New cleaner-burning technologies for coal, such as one that converts the fuel to a synthetic gas, have been delayed or rejected as too costly. Financing new coal plants may also become more difficult as environmental groups step up efforts against lenders including Citigroup Inc. and Bank of America Corp. Coal producers in the U.S. say sales in emerging markets are rising.

U.S. Exports

"I didn't know how to get coal to Romania a month ago but I do now,'' said Michael McQuillen, chief executive officer of Alpha Natural Resources Inc., the coal miner in Virginia formed by First Reserve Corp., the largest private equity firm focused on energy assets. Russia, Ukraine and Romania are all looking to buy from the U.S., he said.

U.S. coal exports have increased 37 percent this year and will continue to climb because of record global demand and a weaker dollar, analysts and executives say

Port operator Kinder Morgan Energy Partners LP, a U.S. pipeline operator, plans to expand its capacity to handle more coal as China, the world's largest producer, becomes a net importer and Australian exports are delayed.

"We see increased interest in coal exports at all of our locations,'' said Emily Thompson, a spokeswoman for Houston-based Kinder Morgan.

Reliapundit: I couldn't have said it better myself! I'd only add this:

I think that expanding domestic energy exploitation and and ending illegal immigration should be the two biggest issues for the GOP.

Bush and the GOP in Congress should start making good proposals on these two issues and not relent until next fall.

If they do they will win. That's because most Americans want us to stop buying oil from overseas, and stop the illegals from flooding in.

The GOP can and should make proposals on both and force the Dems to vote against them. This will alienate the public from the Dems.