Many people think the search for cleaner energy leads only to renewable resources like sun, wind and water. But it also leads to a fossil fuel. Natural gas is considered the cleanest of the fossil fuels — the fuels created by plant and animal remains over millions of years.

Burning it releases fewer pollutants than oil or coal. The gas is mainly methane. It produces half the carbon dioxide of other fossil fuels. So it may help cut the production of carbon gases linked to climate change.

Russia is first in what are called “proved reserves” of natural gas. The United States is sixth. Over the years, big oil and gas companies recovered much of the easily reached supplies of gas in America. They drilled straight down into formations where gas collects. As these supplies were used up, big drillers looked for similar formations in other countries.

But now the industry is taking a new look. Companies are developing gas supplies trapped in shale rock two to three thousand meters underground. They drill down to the shale, then go sideways and inject high-pressure water, sand or other material into the rock.

This causes the rock to break, or fracture, releasing the gas. Huge fields of gas shale are believed to lie under the Appalachian Mountains, Michigan and the south-central states.

Gas shale exploration is being done mainly by small to medium sized companies.

Eric Potter is a program director in the Bureau of Economic Geology at the University of Texas at Austin. He said the kinds of opportunities that are left for natural gas exploration in the United States have changed. So it is not as easy to develop. He says more than half the gas in the United States is now coming from these new reserves.

But hydraulic fracturing can also produce debate and anger over the risk of groundwater pollution. This method of drilling is not federally supervised under the Safe Drinking Water Act. Some in Congress want to end that exemption from the law.

Natural gas provides Americans with about one-fourth of their energy. And, unlike oil, most of it is produced in America. Gas producers invested heavily in reaching new supplies when prices were high.

But prices are down sharply now because the recession cut demand for energy. So energy expert Eric Potter says it is too early to know how the new gas shale reserves will affect the market.

And that’s the VOA Special English Economics Report.

(Adapted from a radio program broadcast 23Oct2009)

Duration : 0:4:4

[youtube oCmh1db_Pd0]

CHARTS used at
http://www.finviz.com

Duration : 0:11:35

[youtube 2qw91fQ_SLY]

Duration : 0:3:8

[youtube yyqr-u3ARjk]

Duration : 0:4:41

[youtube yFxE3GsPnRQ]

Duration : 0:4:16

[youtube ywn2F3XAaJA]

Duration : 0:7:7

[youtube kew0GmY0uEY]

http://www.chrismartenson.com

Duration : 0:6:48

[youtube ASO8izbYNYc]

Duration : 0:4:42

[youtube X90Zv6uhudQ]

Video by AGP Video.

SANTA MONICA The California State Lands Commission (SLC), the state agency responsible for approving new oil leases in California, today voted for a resolution to reject a Department of Finance proposal to bypass the SLC to permit oil drilling off the coast of California. Lieutenant Governor John Garamendi, chair of the SLC, joined State Controller John Chiang in favor of the resolution, while commission member Tom Sheehy, Chief Deputy Director for the Department of Finance, did not cast a vote as he had to leave the hearing early due to a family emergency.

The State Lands Commission has had the authority to approve oil leases in California since 1937. A copy of the resolution is below.

This is a deliberate attempt to overturn the decision of this body, the State Lands Commission, a decision that was based on the finding that this proposal was not in the interests of the state, Lieutenant Governor John Garamendi said. The proposed legislation gives the power to move forward the lease to the Department of Finance, not the legislature.

This is a blatant power grab; the Department of Finance deliberately misrepresented the level of political support behind this, said Susan Jordan, director of the California Coastal Protection Network. It was appalling to watch. They dont like the decision made by the State Lands Commission, but that is precisely why we have an independent commission.

The three-member State Lands Commission originally considered the request to lease land to the Plains Exploration & Production Company to expand drilling off the coast of California in late January, but Garamendi joined State Controller John Chiang in a two-to-one vote to defeat the proposal.

The new drilling proposal offers California a $100 million loan that must be repaid by forgiving future royalty payments to California. This is an incredibly reckless fiscal policy, added Garamendi, chair of- the California Commission for Economic Development. The cleanup costs for 2007s Cosco Busan oil spill in San Francisco exceeded $70 million, and that was a comparatively minor spill compared to whats possible. California should leave new oil production in the 20th century and reassert its leadership in renewable energy production.

Duration : 0:4:48

[youtube cT0-udJxCY8]

Duration : 0:5:17

[youtube n-QV4tuK2tg]