Muddy messages lead to first big conflict.

On a couple of ocassions i have pointed out the risks of using excuses to achieve positive gains in reducing emissions or getting climate friendly policies taken up.

Common strategic allies of climate change mitigation include, energy security and peak oil. The fact that these concerns don't always align is illustrated perfectly by Barack Obama's new backing for the coal to liquids industry.

Here is the quote:

"Illinois basin coal has more untapped energy potential than the oil reserves of Saudi Arabia and Kuwait combined. Senator Obama believes it is crucial that we invest in technologies to use these resources to reduce our dependence on foreign oil."

If climate mitigation continues to be incidental in the US and is simply a result of energy security goals then this sort of conflict can be expected to arise again and again. Climate change is the worlds greatest challenge so we all need to make this clear, however unatractive this may be, there is now point selling an easy message if it lays you bare to this sort of risk.

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