America should develop its vast natural gas reserves

[CarlWohlforth]

Natural gas produces 30% less carbon when delivering the same amount of energy as oil. It produces 50% less than coal. Currently there is no such thing as clean coal. A switch to natural gas helps the environment.

Natural gas can burn in vehicles with little modification. Natural gas is significantly cheaper than oil.

America has a 50-100 year supply. It is possible more may be discovered. Certainly Canada has plenty.

If we make a big push to replace gasoline and diesel burning vehicles with natural gas we will create millions of jobs. These jobs would be in engineering, drilling, building pipelines and storage facilities, building gas stations, converting existing vehicles and supporting those efforts.

Every barrel of oil replaced by US natural gas is (currently $70) an improvement in our trade deficit.

I can't understand why we are not making a major push in this direction!

[walmann]

Isn't it great that after pouring down billions of dollars into to the Dept of Energy (established under Carter), that our dependency on forgein oil has increased instead of decreased.

Even founders of the green movement have come to admit the nuclear should never have been shelved  by the US, and that needs to be corrected, and that many of the so called envirnomental friendly engery programs, such as ethanol, are actually envirnomentally net destructive.

Hard to comprehend a movement and government that has removed DDT from our envirnoment,then promotes and mandates introducing mercury into every home, business and building in the country (CFC bulbs). And that mercury is via an easily breakable container (glass blubs). And yet they are worried about spent nuclear rods?

Yet, another successful and common sense result of big government.

[CarlWohlforth]

Carter formed the DOE by combining the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the Energy Research and Development Administration, the Federal Energy Administration, the Federal Power Commission and some others. I'm not sure if that re-organization actually made gov't bigger or smaller.

I think I read that the head of the Sierra Club is now in favor of nuclear power as he should be. It is about the greenest source of power there is.

I was reading there are new designs (fast sulfur reactors) that consume used fuel rods reducing them in size and energy. Great idea! Existing plants only use %5 of the energy in the rods so there is plenty left. Since Nevada doesn't want them in Yucca mountain they are filling up temporary storage. BTW I can't think of a better place for nuclear waste than Yucca mountain. I've been there.

We need to start building lots of nuclear units and now. But it will take years and years, probably decades to build many more. We still have over 100 units which produce about %19 of US electricity (%8 of our energy). Licenses for 5 more units are being worked on, these are new designs of old technology. We need to build about 300 more units. Even if we do that we still need a full build out of natural gas to power our vehicles. If we abandon natural gas and go all electric vehicles we need to build maybe 900 nuclear units.

[Laserart]

BTW I can't think of a better place for nuclear waste than Yucca mountain.



Maybe Rhode Island

[walmann]

We need to start building lots of nuclear units and now. But it will take years and years, probably decades to build many more. We still have over 100 units which produce about %19 of US electricity (%8 of our energy). Licenses for 5 more units are being worked on, these are new designs of old technology. We need to build about 300 more units. Even if we do that we still need a full build out of natural gas to power our vehicles. If we abandon natural gas and go all electric vehicles we need to build maybe 900 nuclear units.

Actually there are now "mini" pre manafacturered nuclear plants, designed for remote low population areas, available. These can be produced fairly quickly and are cost effective, where its possible for groups of small towns in rural areas could afford to purchase. Even in the US these would be money savers for home and business if allowed to proceed in a sane manner (meaning no cost prohibitive fees and charges by the states or feds)