U.S. advocates laud natural gas

WASHINGTON, Oct. 28 (UPI) -- U.S. lawmakers should consider the benefits to energy security and clean energy advancements available with natural gas, a gas advocacy group said.

U.S. Department of Energy Secretary Steven Chu testified Tuesday alongside other Cabinet officials, including Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood and Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Chairman Jon Wellinghoff, rallying behind the provisions in a Democratic emissions bill.

That bill calls for a 20 percent cut in carbon emissions by 2020 and creates a market for the trade of unused allocations of those emissions.

Rod Lowman, president of America's Natural Gas Alliance, said the increased use of U.S. natural gas reserves would go a long way toward meeting a variety of energy goals.

"Significant advancements in technology are making it easier to safely extract newfound natural gas discoveries," he said.

Natural gas is 50 percent cleaner than coal and readily available in the United States, decreasing America's dependence on foreign energy, Lowman said.

He also lauded a study by the Colorado School of Mines that said there is enough natural gas in the United States to meet demands into the next century.

"Climate and energy legislation, which aims to reduce America's carbon footprint and enhance our energy security, must encourage the use abundant, clean, American natural gas," he said.