As a member of President Bush’s transition team on Energy in 2001 as well as in my present position with the American Clean Skies Foundation, it was
with great interest that I listened to the President’s news conference on February 28, and the resulting media coverage.
I found it quite interesting that of the subjects covered in the news conference, the media gave the most coverage to remarks regarding the economy and national security, and the least to energy. This is in spite of the fact that our country’s energy needs go to
the heart of both those subjects.
I couldn’t agree more with the President’s observation that the time in which we live is a “transitory period to new technologies that will change the way we live.” The issue, of course, is how are we to make a successful transition to that time? As he noted in discussing ethanol,
the search for alternative energy sources can have unintended consequences.
The answer lies in making the best use of our current resources, and that includes our domestic supplies of clean-burning natural gas. Therefore, I wholeheartedly agree with President Bush that “we ought to be
encouraging investment in oil and gas close to home if we’re trying to mitigate the problems we face right now.”
Our natural gas supplies can be put to use right now. New, efficient, generation plants using simplified combined cycle are already in operation
destroying the myth that natural gas is too expensive to use as a generating fuel. Further, the technology also enables the plants to combine natural gas generation with alternative energy such as wind and solar.
Natural gas is not only an environmentally viable fuel source for electric generation, but can also ease the current transportation fuel crisis we face. At least
one-third of the President’s target of replacing 35 billion gallons of petroleum could be met easily by having fleet vehicles run on natural gas. That would only impact 6 percent of the current production of natural gas here in North America. Here in Washington, part of our bus fleet uses CNG.
I know that there are those who warn that we would not be able to meet an increased demand for natural gas. This is largely based on Energy Information Administration projections that natural gas production will be flat over the next 20 years. The fact is the federal government's ability to forecast natural gas production with any degree of accuracy has been suspect for decades. Case in point: In 1978, the government estimated 200 trillion cubic feet (Tcf) of natural gas reserves; in 2007, the government still predicts just over 200 Tcf of natural gas reserves. During the 30-year period, the U.S. energy industry has produced more than 540 Tcf. Frankly, the
EIA’s calculations just don't add up.
The Potential Gas Committee, a group of experts formed by the government to study the matter, released a report last month showing
a 120-year supply of natural gas in North America. New drilling technology has unlocked vast reserves of natural gas in shale, and not only in the traditional energy-producing states. In the Northeast alone, it’s estimated there are 50 Tcf of recoverable natural gas.
I would encourage the President – and the media that report on him – to take a look at what is happening in the Barnett Shale in his home state of Texas
. They can see firsthand the quiet revolution in shale gas that has increased America’s natural gas potential. America stands at an energy crossroads. The facts show that clean, affordable, abundant, American natural gas can help light the way toward a bright energy future.