About Time

I have ranted here more than once about <a href="http://governor.mt.gov/governor/govbio.asp">Gov. Brian Schweitzer</a>'s idea of a coal to fuel plant in the Otter Creek area being premature and that people need to slow down and think. It's never done any good, Schweitzer's sycophantic legions just keep touting his plan like it is going to solve the woes of the world all in one shot. <br />n<br />nWell, finally I see some reporting that blasts holes in Schweitzer's ideas and brings a little dose of reality to the equation.<br />n<br />n<a href="http://www.billingsgazette.net/articles/2006/06/25/news/wyoming/25-leads.txt">Wyoming leads Montana in coal-to-liquid projects</a><br />n<br />n<blockquote>Dan Fessler spent five years looking for a site to launch his vision of a new industry that could produce clean fuel from coal — and, last year, he chose Wyoming.<br />n<br />n"The mines are there; they're massive and they're well-financed," he says. "The rail infrastructure is there. For me to do (this project) in Montana would require me to develop a coal reserve and a transportation infrastructure, which is very expensive.<br />n<br />n"I'm having enough trouble finding financial backing (just) for the coal-to-liquids plant. That's why you find people like me being at the mouth of the Powder River Basin (in Wyoming) rather than going up and talking to your governor."</blockquote><br />n<br />nYou have to learn to walk before you can run the old saying goes and that is the case here. There needs to be a mine and infrastructure in place in the Otter Creek area before there is going to be any interest in a coal-to-fuel plant in the area. Any businessman knows this and I can't understand why Schweitzer and his legions don't understand this.<br />n<br />nSchweitzer claims he shouldn't be blamed for the situation since the Republicans were in control for so long and didn't do anything about increasing coal production and that is why there is no infrastructure. I will point out up until now most of his energy has been on the Otter Creek coal which only come into the equation late in the Martz, the last Republican Governor, administration so there is now way the Republicans can be blamed for it since they didn't have time to screw it up. Schweitzer gets to screw it up all on his own and it looks like he is doing a pretty good job at it.<br />n<br />nTo get anything going in Otter Creek there needs to be basic infrastructure and a mine. The market conditions are now ripe for such a project and the Governor needs to get off his ass and let the lease out for the coal so some development can get started. Then down the road, many, many moons away, can we start dreaming about his other plans. Build the frame of the house before you build the whole house, it makes a lot of sense.<br />n<br />n<strong>He who would learn to fly one day must first learn to stand and walk and run and climb and dance; one cannot fly into flying. Friedrich Nietzsche</strong>