The highly respected Pittsburgh newspaper, the Post-Gazette, published an essay by T. Boone Pickens entitled “In Search fo the Perfect Fuel.”
In that op-ed, Boone described the activity of the U.S. Department of Energy as spending “billions of dollars trying to find the perfect fuel.”
He said the Department’s focus has been “30 years from now” but “we need a plan that can make a difference in 30 months, not 30 years.”
Boone points to natural gas – and especially the massive amounts of natural gas which are available in the Marcellus Shale deposits – saying it might not be a perfect fuel but “it comes closer than anything else we have right now.”
He writes that natural gas is: plentiful, relatively easy to transport, cleaner than coal or oil, cheap, and is a domestic energy source.
He writes that the U.S. House is considering a bill (H.R. 1380) which has over 180 bi-partisan co-sponsors. The Senate is expected to have a similar bill introduced shortly.
Boone says fracking is a proven technology but a half-century of experience “does not absolve the industry of communicating honestly and openly with the public.”