4. available after massive and successful research, and development expenditures. Between now and then the type of environmental regulations that are in force will determine in large measure how much high sulfur coal can be used. Part of our coal reserves are usable now for synthetic fuel production but these are largely in the Far West. Here again technological progress is required and governmental policies on land, water, and reclamation will have great influence. I suspect but I cannot prove that part of our coal reserves will not come into production because its production cost will be too high. In studies of demand for electric utilities the National Petroleum Council combined "coal and nuclear" to balance supply and demand. Coal must not only compete with nuclear and other fuels, but one coal deposit must compete with another, and here again regional differences and physical differences are all important and must be recognized. Mining costs vary widely as do the transportation costs that must be absorbed in getting the coal or the energy produced from it to the point of consumption. The present and future costs of coal produced by underground methods vs. surface methods indicate a continuing advantage for surface mining, and this strongly suggests that it is surface-mined coal that will most likely be used for synthetic fuel production and to displace foreign imports. But most of our coal reserves are underground and we must find ways to improve their competitive position. The sins of surface mining have been abundantly stressed but its virtues need emphasis. Its sins can and should be atoned by reclamation and even with the cost of doing so, in my opinion, most such coal will be competitive. Against this we must remember that: