By Gregory C. Staple Esq. and Joel L. Swerdlow, Ph.D., 2009.

Working Paper

As America produces more and more natural gas, lots of people are thinking about using clean-burning natural gas to run our cars and trucks. It’s not only likely to cost less but it could cut back our oil imports a whole lot, especially from unfriendly regimes.

Shale Gas and America’s Future is a  30-minute, made-for-TV film that looks at how local communities in Pennsylvania are dealing with the potential benefits and risks of shale gas development. In November 2012 the film was awarded the top prize for short documentaries by the Washington D.C.-area association of the Television, Internet & Video Association (TIVA). The film was produced for ACSF in 2010 by the award-winning, Washington D.C.-based documentary group Hillmann & Carr. Click on the image below to view the film.

The second image takes you to ShaleCountry.com. This web site features first-person accounts of the impact of gas production on the economy, the environment and the lives of people living in major shale “plays”– the Haynesville  in Louisiana,  the Fayetteville in Arkansas, and the Marcellus in New York and Pennsylvania.

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Today experts tell us that America has roughly a 100-year supply of natural gas, a fuel that burns with 50% less global warming pollution than coal, and 20% less than most petroleum fuels. And, on a barrels-to-barrels comparison, in 2010, domestic U.S. production of natural gas was greater than that of coal and almost double that for oil.

NATURAL GAS VEHICLES (NGVs): An Economical and Clean Alternative

Natural gas can also be compressed and used to fuel the internal combustion engines used in cars, trucks and buses.

• Reduce carbon monoxide emissions 90%-97%
• Reduce nitrogen oxide emissions 35%-60%
• Potentially reduce non-methane hydrocarbon emissions 50%-75%
• Emit fewer toxic and carcinogenic pollutants
• Emit little or no particulate matter

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