Natural Gas is a Viable Alternative Energy Source for Electricity Production

America should pursue alternative energy sources because “With only 5 percent of the worlds population, the United States consumes almost one-quarter (22.5%) of global energy”. (((Josef Bram, 15))) With such a small percentage of the world’s population and still one of the largest consumers of energy the U.S should be looking for new and better ways to generate energy. Currently The U.S’s energy is supplied using traditional sources. According to Canadian scientist and policy analyst Vaclav Smil “Todays energy 29% from coal, 33% from oil and gas, and 33% from soft-energy (alternative sources)” (((Smil, 47))) Most of the energy we use on a daily basis is not produced using clean methods. Some alternative energy sources that are already in place within the United Stats are wind, solar, and hydraulic.

Natural gas is a fossil fuel that plays a critical role in the demand and supply of energy in the United States. It is considered to be a clean burning transition fuel. Compared to coal and oil, natural gas combustion does not generate as much pollution and is therefore considered an ideal partner for renewable energy resources. Natural gas is extracted from shale formations underground that require horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing – “hydrofracking” or “fracking”. This drilling and extraction method is currently considered a global widespread issue due to the rapid increase in the amount of new gas wells that threatens the quality of water around the source (Entriken, Evans-White, Johnson & Hagenbuch, 2011).

While oil and natural gas are fossil fuels that release harmful greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, these energy sources are cleaner than coal, which is on the decline as fracking expands. Indeed, coal production fell thirteen percent from 2007 to 2012, as did nitrogen dioxide and sulfur dioxide production. Moreover, pipeline transportation of oil and natural gas is significantly safer than traditional freight methods, which have devastated many communities around the world and cost millions of dollars.

Majority of the data available online is either too biased or not peer reviewed and hence misleading to the readers. Natural gas is a very valuable resource and can be combined with engineering innovations to vastly improve human life. For instance, natural gas can help enhance energy efficiency by making the methane and ethane conversion process more effectual and economic. Also, natural gas can be used to generate hybrid high-temperature fluids for cleaner sources of energy such as solar thermal as well as natural gas powered systems for effective cooling and heating applications.3 In this age of technology, it is extremely important to discover ways to augment the potential of natural gas while taking the environmental implications into consideration. Sustainable ways should be developed to generate cleaner and more efficient energy while still embracing the economics benefits of the industry. While considering economic benefits of the hydraulic fracturing industry, it is also of utmost importance to consider those who are residing in areas of current or future shale gas operations for detrimental effects to their health and

Officials in the Obama administration are nearly ready to unveil their unprecedented regulation of the oil and gas industries by ordering the reduction of methane emissions in the United States by 40 to 45 percent within the next ten years. Such a drastic alteration would significantly change how natural gas is produced and consumed and transform the entire electric industry in the country, potentially shifting its reliance on fossil fuels to renewable sources of energy. Though methane constitutes only nine percent of emissions, far less than carbon dioxide, it has over twenty times the effect toward global warming as carbon dioxide has and is therefore important to regulate. Also, the Obama administration has initiated reductions in emission

Natural gas is one of many energy resources being sought out as an alternative to some of the more pollutant geologic resources used abundantly today. Natural gas is being raved about due to how much cleaner it burns than other traditional fossil fuels, and it is becoming one of the more popular forms of energy because of this trait. It is a colorless, odorless fossil fuel, also known as methane. Today's uses for this resource are heating, cooling, production of electricity, and many uses in industry. It is being combined with other fossil fuels to improve environmental performance and decrease pollution. Overall, natural gas is becoming popular because it is an abundant, alternative

In the last decade, oil and natural gas development have rapidly expanded in the United States, fundamentally reshaping domestic energy production. It is abundant both within the United States and around the world. Currently, natural gas provides 22% of the U. S. energy demands. It also

The importance of natural gas is to replace the role of oil in the economy. Natural gas is good for the US because it can produce natural gas domestically. It has plenty of energy for use in people’s homes and in industry. It will help the US economy cope with the depletion of peak oil production. Crude oil is nearly three times as expensive as Natural gas. (Pipeline, 2009-2013)

Natural gas is already a critical part of America’s energy portfolio and consequently a critical part of the country’s economic growth. Not only does natural gas provide over 25 percent of electricity generation, natural gas, and other gases extracted from natural gas provide a feedstock for fertilizers, chemicals and pharmaceuticals, waste treatment, food processing, fueling industrial boilers, and much more. Although natural gas prices in the United States have historically been volatile, the abundance of shale gas brings the possibility of low, stable prices. North America has approximately 4.2 quadrillion (4,244 trillion) cubic feet of recoverable natural gas that would supply 175 years worth of natural gas at current consumption rates. Further, the National Petroleum Council estimates that fracking will allow 60 percent to 80 percent of all domestically drilled wells during the next 10 years to remain viable.

Natural gas and liquefied petroleum gas provide 24% of the energy used in the United States. Natural gas has fewer impurities than coal and oil, and emits little sulfur dioxide during combustion (Friedland 329). Natural gas is much better for the planet than its alternatives, such as coal, and the boom in this industry has allowed for the United States to be able to rely less on it. According to John Wihby, in 2008 coal made up 50% of the United State’s electrical generation, and in 2012 it had dropped to 37%. During these times, natural gas made up roughly 20% to about 30%

Both of coal and natural gas is changed from animals and plant relic. Their relic are buried on deep soil and because of one million’s change, the relic is changed to natural gas and coal. Most of the natural gas is changed from animals relic and coal is form plants. When people burning and using them, they will release heat and energy for people to use, meanwhile, they will release some harmful thing to the air and it will cause air pollution.

CO2 is the most significant greenhouse gas, which mainly comes from the use of fossil fuels. Many people feel that content of CO2 in the atmosphere is the main reason for manmade global warming. The main sources of CO2 emissions involve electricity generation, industrial processes, fumes from transportation and commercial buildings and use. Emissions of greenhouse gases, such as CO2, to the atmosphere are expected to cause even more of a significant change in global climate (Davison, 2007). The main focus to try to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is to reduce the amount that is released from coal-fired power plants. Greenhouse gas emissions that involve the productions of electricity come from natural gas production and coal-fired power plant operations. Natural gas production accounts for twenty-four percent and coal-fired power plant operations accounts for seventy-five percent, while the other one percent is caused by other electricity generation operations. The main reason why coal-fired power plants have a higher percentage of emissions is because the sulfur content of coal is much higher than that of other fossil fuels (Jarmaillo et al., 2007). This proves that there is a great need to find an alternative fossil fuel to use instead of coal. Although coal is easy to mine, transport and process for the electricity generation process, it is also the

The coal-fired plants that dominate U.S. energy production also produce more emissions than any other energy source. Emissions are measured in pounds of emissions per megawatt hour of energy produced. Coal generates 2,249 pounds of carbon dioxide, 13 pounds of sulfur dioxide and 6 pounds of nitrogen oxides for every megawatt hour of energy generated. Natural gas -- the second most common source of energy in the U.S. -- fares better with respect to emissions, producing 1,135 pounds of carbon dioxide, 0.1 pounds of sulfur dioxide and 1.7 pounds of nitrogen oxides per megawatt hour” (Demand Media).

With reserves in 31 states, the US has a supply of natural gas large enough to provide the country with energy for decades (“Gas Drilling: The Story So Far”). Access to these vast deposits is helping to significantly decrease the United States’ reliance on foreign energy, as we have recently become the largest natural gas producer worldwide (“Hydraulic Fracturing Natural Gas and Oil Development”). In addition to abundance, natural gas has several other benefits as well. Natural gas emits only half as much carbon dioxide when burned than coal does, and currently the cost per unit is only one third that of oil, giving it some clear advantages over other widely used fossil fuels (Harvey, Hal). As stated by chairman of BP Capital T. Boone

Throughout the course of human history, conventional natural gas deposits have been the easiest to extract from formations below the surface. These conventional deposits cannot last forever and are declining in number, meaning that people are pushed to search for alternative sources whilst increasing the price of the natural gas that is currently available (Berman, 2016). Fortunately, the search for alternative sources for natural gas has generally been positive; recent utilisation of unconventional gas deposits in the US which have led to them becoming the US’s primary source of indigenous gas production (Korn, 2010: 5). As humans advance technologically and steadily improve their geological knowledge, the percentage of unconventional gas sources that make up power supplies continue to grow. In 2010, 47% of the UK’s electricity was produced by burning natural gas. In comparison 28% of the electricity the UK had produced in 2010 was from burning coal, 16% from nuclear reactors and 7% from