Sounds like there's some major infrastructure changes needed for the US, even more so than I'd expected . . . . it's going to be a tougher adjustment for you than for the rest of us, but I don't think you've still got the economic clout to resist it with the latest crash and loss of value on the dollar.
The weak dollar and the current market woes are not good, but the sky isn't falling, we still have enough economic clout to survive any commodity related pressure. As for infrastructure, it is far more likely that we will lead the way in some type of alternative fuel vehicles than we will in changing to a bike society. For one thing, cycling is viewed as a step backward by many, and we simply, as a nation, won't tolerate that.
Speaking of which, can anyone tell me what exactly "clean coal" is, and why it's a bad idea?I understand the problems with ethanol, and nuclear power somewhat, but I'm less up on that one.
There are many variations of 'clean coal.' For instance, there is a version of clean coal where coal is used to produce diesel. They've been doing it for years (since the Carter admin IIRC). It is actually cleaner than regular diesel and not as bad as burning coal. Unfortunately, it's not economically efficient. It has only lasted this long due to government subsidies. With fuel prices as they are now, it might be economical, I'm not sure, but just like big oil producers are not rushing out to build new refineries, because fuel prices could drop significantly, this industry won't expand either.
Another version of 'clean coal' is where you use it to generate electric power, but rather than allow the exhaust to escape up a chimney, you pump it back into the ground (I think there is some cleansing of it along the way). Often they use depleted, or under performing, oil and natural gas fields for this. It also pushes the remaining oil (Not sure about nat gas) to the top and makes it recoverable. Theoretically since these fields have held gas or oil for millions of years, once capped, they should hold the coal exhaust not problem.
To me, it's a stop gap until more efficient alternative means exist.