If we would develop synthetic gas and diesel from American coal and stop importing their oil, they wouldn't have the money coming in to finance any of their terroist activities. We have got to solve the energy problem in this country once and for all to stabilise all other aspects of the economy. Remember gasoline and oil went sky high last spring, people had LESS money for other things including their mortgages, which was one of the triggers of the problem we are in now.
1. Build solar, wind, and nuclear power plants everywhere possible, put them on the fast track to replace coal, fuel oil, and natural gas for electric production.
2. Convert all fleets now to natural gas (25% of vehicles in the US, postal delivery, utility companies, UPS delivery trucks, Fedex delivery trucks, school buses, garbage trucks, city buses, etc.)
3. Build coal gasification plants to use the coal for synthetic oil, diesel, and gasoline.
Hybrids are expensive still and there are a lot of existing cars and trucks that will be on the road for another 20 years. Fleets can convert in a matter of weeks, with government tax incentives and mandates (fed, state, and local vehicles mandated only, private via incentives).
If we take these steps now, and Europe and Asian countries follow, the Arabs will not make much money with the oil they have left, therefore can't build nuclear weapons, or fund terroists under the table.
