Natural Gas 1. Natural gas is
produced from reservoirs deep beneath the earth’s surface. It is a fossil fuel,
meaning that it is derived from organic material buried in the earth millions of
years ago. The main component of natural gas is methane. 2. The
popularity and use of clean natural gas has increased dramatically over the past
50 years as pipeline infrastructure has been installed to deliver it
conveniently and economically to millions of residential, commercial and
industrial customers worldwide. Today, natural gas services available in all 50
states in the U.S., and is the leading energy choice for fueling American homes
and industries. More than 65 million American homes use natural gas. In fact,
natural gas is the most economical source for home energy needs, costing
one-third as much as electricity. In addition to heating homes, much of the gas
used in the United States is used as a raw material to manufacture a wide
variety of products, from paint to fibers for clothing, to plastics for
healthcare, computing and furnishings. Natural gas is also used in a significant
number of new electricity-generating power plants. 3. Natural
gas is one of the safest and cleanest fuels available. It emits less pollution
than other fossil fuel sources. When natural gas is burned, it produces mostly
carbon dioxide and water vapour—the same substances emitted when humans exhale.
Compared with some other fossil fuels, natural gas emits the least amount of
carbon dioxide into the air when combusted, making natural gas the cleanest
burning fossil fuel of all. 4. The United States consumes about
one-third of the world’s natural gas output, making it the largest gas-consuming
region in the world. The U.S. Department of Energy Information Administration
forecasts that natural gas demand will grow by more than 50 percent by
2025. 5. There are huge reserves of natural gas beneath the
earth’s surface. The largest reserves of natural gas can be found in Russia,
West and North Africa and the Middle East. LNG has been produced domestically
and imported in the United States for more than four decades. Today, the leading
imports of LNG are Japan, Korea, France and Spain. It is estimated that by 2025 that natural gas demand in the United States will increase ______.