Tag Archives: national journal

Dave Parker Natural gas is ahead of the curve

Posted on March 19, 2010 by Dave Parker | Comments Off


nationaljournalblog2 Natural gas is ahead of the curveRead my latest response on the National Journal’s Energy and Environment Experts blog to the question, “Should Carbon Be Priced Sector By Sector?”

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.

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Dave Parker Coming Down To Earth on a ‘Clean Energy’ Standard?

Posted on February 26, 2010 by Dave Parker | 2 Comments


nationaljournalblog2 Coming Down To Earth on a Clean Energy Standard?Read my latest response on the National Journal’s Energy and Environment Experts blog to the question, “Should Congress Embrace A ‘Clean Energy’ Standard?”

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.

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Dave Parker Coming Down To Earth, A Winning Strategy For Renewables

Posted on February 23, 2010 by Dave Parker | Comments Off


nationaljournalblog2 Coming Down To Earth, A Winning Strategy For RenewablesRead my latest response on the National Journal’s Energy and Environment Experts blog to the question, “What’s A Winning Strategy For Renewables?”

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. As Energy Secretary Steven Chu recently told our board of directors, natural gas is a necessary component of any truly renewable energy program.

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 low-carbon future, therefore, must include, and support, traditional and proven fuel sources like natural gas.

While coal has historically been the dominant fuel in America’s domestic resource base, natural gas has begun to play an increasingly important role in electricity generation. 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 – 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.

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

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Dave Parker Can Obama Satisfy The World And Congress?

Posted on December 17, 2009 by Dave Parker | Comments Off


nationaljournalblog2 Can Obama Satisfy The World And Congress?My latest comment from the National Journal’s Energy and Environment Experts blog.

Creating a Practical, Doable Solution

As an issue, climate change – regardless of how people choose to define it – probably sits near the top of every major government’s to-do list.  In a perfect world, that fact alone should be enough to spur into action the world leaders currently gathering in Copenhagen.

We do not, however, live in a perfect world.  We live in a world where climate change, although a very important issue, is one of many facing policy makers with limited time, limited budgets and an expanding portfolio of pressing concerns.  What can President Obama do to satisfy the world and express in action America’s commitment to addressing the probable effects of climate change?  First and foremost he can look to his own country and its rich supply of innovation, creativity and domestic low-carbon resources.

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 a long journey.

There is no “app” for clean energy, but there is a strategy and, given time, it will likely bear fruit:  (1) continue to invest in energy efficiency technologies; (2) support and encourage alternative power generation sources such as nuclear, solar, wind, bio fuels and hydro; and (3) intelligently develop existing, domestic low-carbon resources such as abundant, clean natural gas.

The practical task of changing how electricity is generated and used will not be achieved through some panacea, but through the intelligent coordination of multiple, scalable solutions which will take time and significant resources to reach.  Natural gas is a major part of the solution, but we need to be realistic about what it will take to get to that carbon-neutral future and what the real costs entail.

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