Carter created the Synthetic Fuels Corporation, whose main remit was various coal-to-oil schemes. Add in 1980s tech and you end up with such incredible pollution* that even strip mining everything is more environmentally friendly.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synthetic_Fuels_Corporation
* You start from coal which has more carbon than oil in any grade you choose, and then add the extra inefficiency of the process so you need more coal than had you burnt it directly. It's like burning coal in a super inefficient manner.
