The Sunday Washington Post ran an editorial highlighting the importance of natural gas in the climate debate.

“The resurgence of gas comes through the discovery of massive deposits in Appalachian shale [Marcellus Shale] formations and elsewhere — a reserve that offers the prospect of stable domestic supplies and relatively low prices. Since burning natural gas produces half the emissions of burning coal, switching the two fuels could put a significant dent in America’s carbon footprint.”

So far, despite rumors, the Administration has not backed a switch from coal-fired to natural gas-fired power plants.

Our national leaders need to embrace domestically produced natural gas and replace outdated and dirty coal-fired power plants with gas-fired plants. According to the Post piece, “existing gas-fired plants are running at only about 25 % capacity, in part because many are switched on only when demand spikes.” We know where the gas is and we have the technology to safely and responsibly harvest it. We have an infrastructure in place to deliver the gas to the marketplace. Existing gas-fired power plants, running at 25% capacity, have the present ability, without costly infrastructure investment, to support the nation’s drive for environmentally responsible energy independence. What we lack is the political will at both the national and state levels to make it happen.