Natural gas week on NPR

September 23, 2009 by Dan Gibson · 1 Comment
Filed under: Natural Gas 

Does anyone call NPR National Public Radio anymore? Because they’re not just radio. I come across them quite a bit as I’m moving through the digital world. From their great iPhone app to discussion of their success on the social web and building community, NPR comes up quite a bit. The AIGA (they no longer go by American Institute of Graphic Arts) even did a case study examining NRP’s relaunch of npr.org.

But why am I writing about NPR all of a sudden on truebluenaturalgas.org?

Well, first a reminder that True Blue is a platform for AGA staff to talk about their interests, not necessarily natural gas related. Don’t get me wrong. If you want information on natural gas from the natural gas experts, you’re in the right place. But you’ll also have an opportunity to learn a little about these experts.

The other reason is NPR gives me a reason to write about their work here because they’re doing a pretty good impression of “natural gas week on NPR.”

They start off with an article by Tom Gjelten titled “Rediscovering Natural Gas By Hitting Rock Bottom.” Gjelten talks with Robert Hefner, identified as a veteran gas producer from Oklahoma. Hefner shares our view on abundance of the natural gas supply saying, “I used to say the nation is awash in natural gas. Now I say we’re drowning in it.”

The article touches on the Marcellus basin. Per the article, that basin alone is believed to hold as much as 500 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, the equivalent of about 80 billion barrels of oil.

Gjelten also touches on the potential environmental impact of switching to natural gas. Natural gas is cheaper than oil, and produces only about half the carbon dioxide that comes from burning coal.

The article finishes with a good quote from Christopher Flavin, president of Worldwatch Institute. “You can combine that with improvements in end-use efficiency and the development of renewable energy sources, and really see these as a partnership. Even the International Energy Agency is saying the path for oil is downward, and suddenly we’ve got this very different picture for natural gas,” says Flavin. “I think it’s unfortunately not fully percolated into the understanding of what’s possible among policymakers. But I think as that takes hold in the next few years, it’s really going to change the game.”

What do you think of the article?

Tags: npr, supply

Wrapping up the Alliance to Save Energy “All Roads to Copenhagen” Summit

September 22, 2009 by Dan Gibson · Comments Off
Filed under: events 

Last week we went to the Alliance to Save Energy (ASE)’s “All Roads to Copenhagen” Summit. The word of the day was definitely “efficiency” and was present to some degree in virtually everyone’s remarks.

Secretary Salazar led a strong cast of speakers. I was excited to see a Google (big Google products user) presence in the form of Dan Reicher, Director of Climate Change and Energy Efficiency. Dan talked about Google’s work in developing their smart grid. What caught my ear was that Dan said he had huddled with Jim Rogers, President & CEO, Duke Energy, at the beginning of the event to talk about doing the same thing with natural gas.

Frances Beinecke, President, Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) took her turn at the podium. Earlier in the day AGA issued a joint statement with NRDC supporting the recommendations of the National Academies that the Department of Energy (DOE) move toward the use of a “full-fuel-cycle” measurement.



There were a ton of other great messages at the event like Chris Chafe, Executive Director, Change to Win on organized labor being ready to work with utilities. Cathy Zoi, Assistant Secretary, U.S. Department of Energy Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, did well.

Dave’s session went well, which I’m always pleased to see. I was able to convince him to do a brief video snippet afterward (above) for those that weren’t able to attend. The sound isn’t the greatest (shooting video in the halls of the Senate is like shooting in the middle of an auditorium) but I was able to clean it up some so you can hear him ok.

We’re also including a bunch of pictures from the event. Enjoy and leave thoughts on the event if you were there.

Tags: alliance to save energy

Natural Resources Defense Council Joins AGA to Promote ‘Full-Fuel-Cycle’ Measurements for Appliances

September 17, 2009 by Lauren Blosse · Comments Off
Filed under: Natural Gas, environment 

The esteemed Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), known in Washington and around the country as the most effective environmental action organization, has banded together with AGA for an important cause- to improve the way the “carbon footprints” of our appliances are measured.

The two groups released a joint statement today urging Congress to heed the recommendations of a National Academies study, released in May, which concludes that a “full-fuel-cycle” measurement for appliances will give consumers the most scientifically accurate information about the energy consumption of their purchases.

Currently, the Department of Energy measures efficiency at the “site source” of an appliance – for example, the burner tip on your stovetop.  But that type of measurement doesn’t take into account the amount of energy lost along the way in the production, generation, and distribution of the fuel, i.e., the full-fuel-cycle.

So it’s fair to say that right now, consumers are only getting part of the energy efficiency equation when they purchase an appliance, and the National Academies, AGA and now NRDC have set out to help customers see the true size of their carbon footprint.

Visit this link for more.

Tags: energy

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