Investing in companies that can help the United States turn its vast coal resources into clean burning fuels may be a great way to put a portion of the funds you have allocated for speculation to work. The ability to produce synfuel from coal has been proven successful and is a well established business in South Africa. Sasol (NYSE: SSL) is a company that has a track record of successful coal to liquid conversion and has the potential to expand the use of their technology in oil starved economies such as China.

Investing in Coal to liquid in the US requires the purchase of shares of companies with very little or no earnings, product demonstration units that may or may not pan out, and management with little track record of making coal to liquid profitable. Companies like Headwaters (NYSE: HW), Syntroleum Corp (NASDAQ: SYNM), and Rentech (AMEX: RTK) all fall into this category.