What can President Obama do to address America’s concerns about climate change and energy policy?

The short answer is that, whether we are talking about creating jobs, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, being more energy efficient or increasing our energy independence, natural gas is a natural fit.   With this in mind, President Obama should consider several specific steps:

First, ensure continued access to our vast domestic natural gas resource base, especially the abundant shale gas that we are now producing.

Continued, steady production from these shale plays is a key component, not only in creating new jobs – often in areas of the country where jobs are desperately needed – but also in helping to foster greater price stability, which will help ensure a cost-effective means to meet the growing energy needs of our economy.   Increasing our efforts to maximize the many benefits of natural gas will also help to reduce our dependence on foreign sources of energy.

Second, the president should make clear that natural gas must be a central part of any energy policy that the 112th Congress considers.  If Congress moves forward on a renewable or clean energy standard, natural gas should be included as a compliance option.  Policymakers should pursue a “smart energy” grid that ensures the right fuel mix is in place to achieve the greatest emissions reductions and energy savings.   The fuel mix in such a “smart energy” approach will require the increased use of natural gas in America’s homes and businesses.  And when used directly, natural gas delivers nearly three times more usable energy compared to electricity.

Third, he should look to our country’s rich supply of innovation and technological creativity to address some of our most pressing issues.   The United States is home to many of the world’s leading alternative energy and carbon-neutral researchers, creative thinkers and entrepreneurs.  Some are academics seeking to develop low-impact resources for idealistic reasons, while others are traditional energy companies looking to capitalize on the green energy market.  Both should be encouraged because fundamentally shifting the very concepts of energy and energy supply will be an expensive and long journey.

There is no “app” for clean energy, but there is a strategy and, given time, it will bear fruit:  (1) ensure access to America’s abundant, domestic natural gas resources; (2) draft a comprehensive energy policy that focuses on the effective utilization of natural gas; and (3) support and encourage the development of efficient, low-emission energy technologies.

Here in Washington, D.C., we have been hearing a lot about congressional Democrats and Republicans “working together” recently – as evidenced by passage of the recent bipartisan tax extension legislation.

After taking stock of its bruising midterm election losses, Democrats insisted that it is possible to find some common ground with newly ascendant congressional Republicans. Meanwhile, those very same Republicans, mindful of appearing too partisan, have said the very same thing – there is some common ground; we just need to work on it.

As the president recently noted, natural gas is clearly one of those non-partisan, common ground issues on which both Democrats and Republicans should be able to come together. Indeed, there are a number of steps the administration and Congress can take to act on this critical issue. First, ensure continued access to our vast domestic natural gas resource base, especially the abundant shale gas that we are now producing. Continued, steady production from these shale plays is a key component not only in creating new jobs but also in helping to foster price stability, which will ensure this valuable domestic resource can continue to effectively meet the growing energy needs of our economy while reducing our dependence on foreign sources. Shale gas can be produced in a safe and benign manner with appropriate environmental safeguards.

Natural gas must also be a central part of any energy policy that the 112th Congress considers. If Congress moves forward on a renewable or clean electricity standard, natural gas should be included as a compliance option. And although discussions often turn toward the “smart grid,” our policymakers should pursue a “smart energy” grid that ensures the right fuel mix is in place to achieve the greatest emissions reductions and energy savings. At least for the foreseeable future, the fuel mix in such a “smart energy” approach will require the increased use of natural gas, especially its direct use in America’s homes and businesses.

Indeed, America’s natural gas utilities and their residential and commercial customers have long led the way in reducing carbon emissions. While the number of residential households using natural gas increased from 38 million in 1970 to nearly 65 million today — an increase of more than 70 percent — overall residential consumption over that time has remained essentially flat.

This decline in residential gas usage per household is due to better insulated homes, more efficient appliances and conservation/efficiency programs that are implemented by natural gas utilities. Future policies should take these facts into consideration when developing goals to increase the efficiency of buildings and appliances.

Natural gas contributes to America’s economy too, from the hundreds of thousands of jobs held by those who work for local utilities, to those who are responsible for finding it and bringing it to market, to those who ensure the infrastructure is in place to make it all happen. Overall, there are nearly 3 million Americans employed either directly or indirectly by the natural gas industry, to say nothing of the countless millions of manufacturing and service-related jobs that are dependent on reliable energy. Utilities also contribute significant revenue to local tax bases and provide historically solid dividend income to shareholders, who are often customers of the local utility in which they invest.

The time to act is now. We applaud the administration’s new focus on natural gas’ many attributes because we know that this clean, abundant, efficient, American fuel can make a real difference right now and for future generations to come. We hope that Congress and the administration can find common ground to ensure America accelerates the great progress we have already made thanks to the increased use of natural gas in this country.

The recent weather events making news across America and across the globe do indeed give us all reason to pause. Certainly there have been recent, unusual, and in some cases tragically destructive, weather patterns, but no unanimous consensus is possible as to whether the changes are to some degree a cyclical event or a total de-linkage from the past. Likewise there never will be consensus as to how much of the changing patterns are attributable to human activities. However, we as an industry—and as a country—need to thoughtfully plan for an energy-efficient, carbon-constrained and climate-focused future. Utilizing the premier fuel that is natural gas should be a cornerstone to any such energy plan.

AGA has long understood the importance of balancing the need to meet increasing energy demands with an awareness of our environmental stewardship. Our member utilities and their customers have long supported efforts that encourage conservation and efficiency and the responsible development of America’s abundant natural gas resources.

That said, the wide-ranging debate over climate change, while taking into account the concerns of the environmental community, must also allow for reasonable input from industries likely to be affected by any resulting environmental legislation or regulations.

This is all the more reason to promote the direct use of natural gas in America’s homes and business. Not only is natural domestically abundant—meaning it can meet our growing energy needs right now—but also it is the cleanest and most efficient of the fossil fuels. In fact from the wellhead to the burner tip, natural gas loses only about 10 percent of its useable energy. Even when used to generate electricity, natural gas is cleaner than other fossil fuels and it can provide reliable baseload power, unlike other clean energy forms such as wind and solar, which are more intermittent in nature.

These attributes only highlight the important, and intelligent, role that natural gas plays in providing reliable and low-carbon energy.

The tragic and still un-contained oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico may well go down as one of the most significant environmental disasters of record.  That being said, the fact remains that United States’ insatiable demand for energy is unchanged.

As a country, we still use an enormous amount of energy every day and that energy has to come from somewhere.  Compounding the already contentious debate surrounding our dependence on foreign sources of energy, there is a good chance that this disaster may sour Americans on additional, let alone existing, domestic oil production.  Whatever comes next should reflect a more disaggregated but strong domestic energy framework that takes advantage of our nation’s many alternative resources.

AGA has long supported, to the fullest extent possible, the development of a diverse domestic energy supply, including coal, oil, nuclear, wind, hydro, solar and, of course, natural gas.  And while everyone is encouraged by the increased awareness being brought to renewables, the fact remains that all of the power produced by alternative and renewable fuel sources meets only a small portion of the country’s daily energy needs.

A realistic plan for a sustainable low-carbon future, therefore, must include, and support, traditional and proven fuel sources such as natural gas.  With major energy producers publicly turning to natural gas as their fuel of choice, the message is clear—as the cleanest of all fossil fuels, natural gas can provide the nation and its consumers with a proven, reliable, low-carbon source of energy.

Equally important is ensuring that the most effective and efficient application of natural gas—directly using natural gas to heat homes, to heat water, for cooking, and for other end-use applications such as natural gas vehicles—is encouraged and supported.  Direct use of natural gas is more efficient, more cost effective and greener than converting gas to electricity to power the same end-use applications.

President Obama’s plan to expand offshore natural gas exploration is a clear sign that his administration understands the importance of achieving American energy security on all fronts. While AGA is happy that the president sees the vital short- and long-term role that natural gas plays in a low-carbon future, greater inroads to capturing natural gas’ inherent efficiency and robust domestic resource base are still needed.

Just this Tuesday, AGA reported that at year-end 2009 the known reserves of natural gas in the United States likely increased for the 11th straight year, approaching 250 trillion cubic feet. Combined with the most current estimate of undiscovered resources, we have a total future supply equaling more than 100 years at the current rate of use. This is the highest level in more than 35 years. Much of the supply optimism can be traced to the influences of unconventional onshore resources such as natural gas from shale and tight sands. Access to offshore natural gas reserves will provide additional strength to domestic resources.

This kind of robust supply base reinforces the pivotal role that natural gas will continue to play in the years ahead. When used directly in homes, businesses and industry, natural gas is at its most efficient. And when used for power generation, natural gas is the cleanest of fossil fuels. All of these benefits point to the need for continued domestic exploration for natural gas onshore and off, unconventional and conventional.

The goal of a diverse stable of carbon-neutral alternatives for power generation is an important one; it is certainly a goal worth pursuing. To that end, AGA has long supported the development of a diverse domestic energy supply, including oil, nuclear, coal, wind, hydro, solar and, of course, domestic, abundant and clean natural gas.

But we as a nation also need to get behind the best low carbon fuel that is domestically accessible, already abundant, available and ready right now. Natural gas meets all of these criteria and expanded offshore access will help to ensure it continues to do so.

Although the recent Gallup poll showing decreased concern over climate change is troubling, it is not surprising given the number of other, more immediate concerns facing Americans today, including such “kitchen table” issues as affordable health care, affordable energy, paying the mortgage, holding on to their jobs, and the shape of their 401k.

For many Americans, climate change is an academic argument over abstract issues that have little immediate connection to their everyday lives. When faced with losing a house or a job, worrying about health insurance or the safety of a child at war, measuring carbon emissions or reading about greenhouse gas buildup can easily fall down the list of people’s priorities.

That said, the debate over the validity of climate change, its potential causes and solutions, remains an important one, which is why AGA, its natural gas utility members and their customers continue to move forward, focusing on proven practices that can increase energy efficiency and conservation, and mitigate greenhouse gas emissions. From encouraging the direct use of natural gas in homes and businesses to promoting more efficient building codes and standards, our industry has a demonstrated track record of environmental stewardship. In fact, the number of residential households using natural gas increased from 38 million in 1970 to about 65 million today — an increase of more than 70% — yet aggregate residential consumption of natural gas to heat their homes over that time remained essentially flat and so have greenhouse gas emissions. Equally impressive, households across America today use 32 percent less natural gas than they did in 1980.

The point is that in natural gas households, it is still possible to concentrate on the kitchen table issues while doing your part to be energy efficient and reduce greenhouse gas emissions and combat climate change.

The American Gas Association (AGA) commends Senators Kerry, Graham, Lieberman, Cantwell, Collins, Bingaman and Murkowski for helping to keep a spotlight on our nation’s energy issues and looking for smart, creative and logical alternatives to address America’s need for a sound energy policy. By recognizing the role that clean, domestic and abundant natural gas can and will play in combating climate change, our legislators can help reach our nation’s energy goals sooner.

AGA urges members of Congress to take a look at the successful track record of America’s natural gas customers. During the past 40 years, while the number of natural gas customers has doubled, actual natural gas use and greenhouse gas emissions have remained essentially flat. This decline in residential gas usage per household is due to better insulated homes, more efficient appliances and conservation/efficiency programs supported by natural gas utilities.

This remarkable success in both reducing natural gas usage on a per-household basis and increasing appliance efficiency should be considered when crafting a national energy strategy. Instead of simply mandating arbitrary prescriptive requirements, a far more effective course of action would be to continue to support these successful approaches and encourage other innovative ways to promote conservation.

We believe that natural gas could, and should, be used as a tool to improve environmental quality and energy efficiency. An approach to reducing emissions that is focused on appliance efficiency standards, building codes, and utility-supported conservation/efficiency programs has a proven track record for residential and commercial natural gas customers. As it looks to the future, Congress should also identify what has worked in the past and encourage more of it.

AGA has long supported, to the fullest extent possible, the development of a diverse domestic energy supply, including coal, oil, nuclear, wind, hydro, solar and, of course, natural gas. Senator Graham’s proposal, while an important first step, does not fully engage all of America’s low-carbon tools in our fight to reduce carbon emissions; specifically, it omits natural gas. As Energy Secretary Steven Chu recently told us at an AGA Board of Directors meeting, natural gas is a necessary component of any truly renewable energy program.

The fact remains that all of the power produced by alternative and renewable fuel sources meets only a small portion of the country’s daily energy needs, and those dependent on solar and wind to produce electricity rely on natural gas as a back-up fuel when the wind doesn’t blow and the sun doesn’t shine. A realistic plan for a low-carbon future, therefore, must include, and support, traditional and proven fuel sources such as natural gas.

With major energy producers publicly turning to natural gas as their fuel of choice, the message is clear – as the cleanest of all fossil fuels, natural gas can provide the nation and its consumers with a proven, reliable, low-carbon source of energy.

Equally important is ensuring that the most effective and efficient application of natural gas – its direct use in the home for space heating, heating water, cooking, and other end-use applications – is encouraged and supported. Direct use of natural gas is by far the most efficient, cost effective and green choice when compared to converting gas to electricity to power the same end-use applications.

The best way to address climate change and support the renewable market, while still providing America with the reliable energy it needs to grow its economy, is with a wide-ranging set of options that includes natural gas and all of America’s other energy resources.