Nat. gas demand needs a boost, and fast

TO: President Obama

The Concerned is used to natural gas being stranded beneath the ground, but we've been shocked to learn that gas can also become stranded in storage tanks. Natural gas production in the U.S. is running into problems from a bloated storage capacity, low spot prices, and low demand. The situation is getting so bad that the Energy Information Administration might soon be able to measure exactly how much natural gas the U.S. can store! In its history, all it has been able to do is estimate that figure.

The gas industry is counting on winter to increase demand in the short term, boost prices, and shrink the volume of gas in storage. But the forecast is calling for a mild winter, so we're more concerned than usual.

We've heard many people say these days that natural gas is the green fuel of the future because it burns so cleanly compared to other fossil fuels. We've also heard varying statements about how much energy independence it could give the U.S. -- everywhere from slightly energy independent for the next 100 years or so, to almost totally energy independent for about 20.

No matter how long it takes to win our energy freedom, switching to natural gas sounds just great to The Concerned. The only problem is that our economy has a very narrow idea of what to do with the miracle fuel, so demand isn't catching up with supply quickly enough. That disparity is creating a gas bubble that some experts think might approach the breaking point.

So far, the most talked-about ways to increase demand for methane are to convert things to burn it instead of diesel, coal or gasoline -- things like vehicles, power plants and factories. That's all too slow. We have way too much natural gas right now, and we need to use a bunch of it in a hurry.

We, The Concerned, have a couple of solutions. The first involves using the vast power of American consumers. As quickly as possible, every new household item should be capable of running on natural gas canisters. Millions of methane-powered hair dryers, lawn mowers, chainsaws, toaster ovens and pencil sharpeners would have a dramatic, rapid effect on domestic demand -- plus they would stimulate the industry a whole lot faster than converting giant, cumbersome power plants and fleets of trucks and airliners. What's more, think how thrilling board games could be if natural gas played a part: "You sunk my battleship!" would have a whole different connotation for the youngest, greenest generation.

But all that might still take too long, and it might even backfire, making us even more dependent on foreign petroleum. So The Concerned has another option. The space shuttle program is way too expensive and is due to be replaced. Have you thought about telling NASA to make the nation's new spacecraft burn liquid natural gas instead of liquid hydrogen? Rocket engines that burn liquid methane and liquid oxygen have already been developed on a small scale and large scale, and one NASA news article from 2007 detailed evidence that such engines have many benefits over current ones, from multiple perspectives, not the least of which are fiscal, environmental, engineering and safety. The Concerned feels like it just met natural gas all over again.