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If those objections can be overcome, the nation's railroads will have to spend millions rebuilding deteriorated roadbeds to bear the added weight of the coal shipments. One widely touted solution is to use slurry pipelines, which would pump pulverized coal and water to users throughout the country. Fine, but who will supply the water? "This is an extremely arid region," says David Freudenthal, Wyoming's state planning coordinator. "It's not that we are opposed to pipelines, but we are opposed to shipping our water out of state."
For whatever reassurance it may be worth, a surprising number of energy experts questioned by TIME correspondents around the nation contend that it really is not necessary for Carter and Schlesinger to get every detail of the energy program right at the outset. The prime essential, in their view, is to convince the public and Congress that a real crisis exists, and that the Government is genuinely moving to meet it. Passage of even an inadequate energy program, they think, will be an indispensable plus; mistakes and errors can be corrected later, once momentum is established.
On that score, Jim Schlesinger is cautious. "This is a challenge to the American political system," he declares. "There's a question as to whether the system can support the energy plan. Can Congress, which represents diverse interests and parts of the country, come together?"
The worry is justified. As soon as the National Energy Plan, as it will be called, is tossed into the congressional crucible, it will be subjected to extreme heat from many sides. "I think there is going to be screaming for a time," says an insider. "It is definitely going to have teeth in it."
One of the strongest attacks on the bill will be waged by the forces seeking immediate and total deregulation of domestic petroleum and natural gas prices. Texas and Louisiana Democrats, as well as a number of laissez-faire Republicans, led by Representative Robert Krueger of Texas, will try to get the Government out of energy pricing altogether. They just might win. There is growing sentiment for a deregulation bill.
Two hard-driving House Democrats, Arizona's Morris Udall, Carter's old rival in the presidential primaries, and Ohio's John Seiberling, almost certainly will try to tack onto Carter's bills an amendment calling for the dismemberment of Big Oil.
Meanwhile, the special interest groups will be doing their own lobbying. Since Carter's main plank will be conservation, the utility industry should be fairly pleased. Industry leaders are even willing to handle the home-insulation program, but only on the condition that it is entirely voluntary. The National Coal Association, ironically, feels apprehensive about the program, though Schlesinger wants to boost its members' production and sales. Executives fear that Washington's enthusiasm for more coal usage will lead to shortages, followed by federal price controls. Environmentalists, among Washington's most vocal lobbyists, will be reminding Carter of his campaign statements that he would favor ecology over industrial growth if it came to an either/or choice.