Untapped resource: natural gas: safer cleaner energy that pays for itself.

• Author: Frodl, Michael G.
• Position: VIEWPOINT

Unlike renewable energy sources, natural gas is a proven fuel with mature associated technologies. And it has a cost advantage over other forms of energy such as wind, solar and geothermal. Along with clean coal, natural gas is perhaps the most practical energy option for the United States to decrease its dependence on foreign oil and reduce its vulnerability to outside threats.

Natural gas is methane, which is what remains after gases extracted from underground are refined and others such as butane and propane are removed. Natural gas occurs geologically either with crude oil or by itself. While Russia has the world's largest reserves, North America is not far behind. When burned, natural gas emits significantly less C [O.sup.2] and fewer traditional pollutants per unit weight than does oil. Of the three main fossil fuels, natural gas is the poorest in carbon content per unit weight, while coal is the richest, and crude oil that is refined into products like gasoline, is somewhere in between.

Natural gas and oil have had a competitive historical existence. Back in the 19th century, light was provided to American homes by the burning of whale oil and candles made from animal fats. When it was discovered that the black liquid oozing out of the ground and destroying the resale value of farms in Pennsylvania was actually an asset to be prized, whale oil and candles were replaced by the first commercially successful refined product from crude oil: kerosene.

Well before natural gas became the darling fossil fuel of environmentalists because it was cleaner burning and less polluting than oil or coal, it was primarily used as a key input for making chemicals, including fertilizers and explosives.

Some players in the chemical industry have moved parts of their production abroad where natural gas is produced more cheaply. An example is the proposed joint venture between Dow Chemical and the Kuwaiti government. Dow would provide the specialized technologies to use natural gas to produce anything from plastics to petrochemicals and Kuwait would contribute capital, land and the raw materials. This project is on hold because of a contract dispute but it will most likely restart soon.

There are many ways to respond to either the high price or the low supply of natural gas at home. One possibility is to use the vast supplies of U.S. coal to produce gas fuel through coal gasification. Instead of burning coal the old fashioned way, coal is crushed into...