Once our president told the exact truth.  He stated that the greatest security threat our country faces is our dependence on foreign oil.  He did not mention the fact that we can solve this problem as fast as we can build the production facilities.  

In 1920s, in the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute in Germany,  Fischer and Tropsch developed a process of converting coal to liquid fuels. During the 1940s Germany used them almost exclusively.  The process has been refined considerably since then, and a number of companies and the state of Montana (http://governor.mt.gov/hottopics/faqsynthetic.asp) have invested in the technology.  Now substitutes for gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, and heating oil can be made from coal.  It is estimated that Montana alone has the ability to produce fuel equivalent to 1/4 of the oil reserves of Saudi Arabia... and of course, there is much more coal throughout the Eastern US.  The US has enough coal to eliminate all dependency on foreign oil for most of the rest of the century, assuming no increase in use.

Of course, cost is a concern.  The US presently consumes about 11 million barrels of crude oil a day.  Less than 100% of crude oil is converted to liquid fuel, but it's the best equivalent I have. Since the cost of a plant that could produce 150,000 barrels a day of refined fuel is $7.5 billion, total cost of conversion would be $550 billion.  This is not a trivial amount of money, but is achievable.  Once the plants are built, the total  cost of producing one barrel of refined fuel is $35 to $40.  The US Government was investing in this technology in the 1940s and 50s, and again in the 70s, but each time, aggressive lobbying by the oil companies brought this development to a halt.  Also, the cost of a barrel of oil temporarily dropped below $35.   With oil varying between $50 and $70 a barrel, it would take seven to 10 years for the difference in the cost of fuel to equal the cost of conversion.  This does not, of course, include the cost of using our military to defend our supply.
All of this money would be spent in the United States, so this conversion would not only greatly enhance national security and boost our economy, it would greatly alleviate our trade imbalance.    

It would also decrease the profits of Exxon Mobil, and Chevron, and decrease the income of the Saudi Royal family.  With record profits, the oil companies.... and Saudi Arabia... are able to pay lobbyists and make political contributions.   The oil companies and Saudi Arabia are generous with both major parties, so no matter who is in office in DC, the statesmen who work to get this infrastructure built face formidable opposition. South Africa is working seriously on producing F-T fuels.  China has started.  Several third world countries are working on it.  Eventually, the US may follow, if our people persuade our leadership to take this path.

Now, there are environmental and health and safety issues.  There are some kinds of coal mines that are environmentally very destructive.  Coal miners die from mine explosions and from black lung.  (of course, it is possible to mine coal with remotely operated or semi-autonomous machines, and coal can be mined without destroying the land.)  The other environmental problem is the fact that even though F-T fuels produce less particulates  than their oil-based counterparts and no heavy metal vapors, they produce the same amount of CO and CO2.  The accelerating global warming would continue- temporarily.   Coal conversion refineries can also employ Americans at much less risk
than mining coal.

We should develop this resource: A country at war defending its oil supply and in a deep economic depression from $100+ oil can not develop a carbon neutral renewable energy infrastructure.  Developing this vast energy resource under us,  using some and selling the rest,  we can fund creation of an infrastructure that uses renewable energy sources, as well as address such problems as our staggering national debt and our deteriorating health care system.