We're not suggesting that CO2 generated by burning coal, or, more importantly now, by the processes of converting coal into liquid fuel, isn't, or shouldn't be, a concern.
We think, though, there are useful/profitable ways to actually capture and use that CO2, and we should pursue those avenues.
However, we shouldn't overly demonize, or fear, CO2, either. It is a naturally occurring substance - and, it occurs in abundance.
The CO2 "lake" reported by National Geographic herein might not be all that rare - the profoundly deep and volcanically active continental rift trenches in the oceanic abyss could harbor many of them. The rifts are foci of volcanic activity and the water pressure is more than sufficient there to confine the CO2 and keep it from rapidly fizzing up to the surface. But - guaranteed - at that pressure, the CO2 is dissolving into the water and slowly diffusing away - ultimately making it's way to the surface.
This particular CO2 lake was found only because peculiar circumstances allowed it to form, and be confined, at a relatively shallow depth.
It's similar, in some respects, to the "river" of liquid CO2 reported near some undersea Icelandic volcanoes - which we're still attempting to verify.
In any case, CO2 effluent from either coal-fired power plants, or coal-to-liquid factories, would be a drop in the bucket - to use a trite phrase - compared to natural sources like this.
When we see such phenomena, we have to conclude that CO2 geochemistry and meteorology is not really understood. We shouldn't just sit around on our hands - with CoalTL, especially - just because we're afraid of the dark.