Fueling the Future
Natural gas plays an important role in our nation's future. It's good for our environment, our economy - and even our national security.
There is no cleaner-burning fossil fuel than natural gas. It burns about twice as clean as coal and significantly cleaner than crude oil. The U.S. Department of Energy predicts that the use of clean-burning fuels will grow considerably in the coming decades, with demand even higher abroad than here at home. So it's more important than ever for the United States - and Pennsylvania - to be leaders in the exploration of energy sources like natural gas.
Many of us use natural gas every day to heat our homes, generate electricity or even fuel our vehicles. The natural gas industry supports millions of jobs in communities across our nation. Because there is so much natural gas right here in America, using this environmentally responsible fuel strengthens our local economies while making us less dependent on unreliable - and sometimes even hostile - foreign countries. The Marcellus Shale has had a profound impact on our future. Before it was discovered, many experts believed we would run out of natural gas in a few decades, potentially becoming as addicted to liquefied natural gas (LNG) from abroad as we are to foreign crude oil. (LNG is the same as natural gas except that it has been liquefied, and therefore compacted, for use where no system of pipeline is present for transportation.) Instead, we have a growing 100-year supply of clean-burning natural gas. That's great news for our nation, and for future generations.