Argue the US should increase its use of natural gas - Essay Example

This will critically compare both the pros and cons of this form of fuel and the benefits of its use in the United States (Knittel 3). The choice of gas to use in our industries is no longer guided by the desires of an individual but the cost and availability of the said fuel. With major economies relying on fossil fuel for different functions including industrial and home use, the current reserves are being depleted at an alarming rate. Natural gas is currently one of the cheapest and safest gases around the world with the United States sitting on a huge reserve of the gas which is currently unexploited.

The lack of interest on natural gas and its resultant lack of exploitation can be attributed to the negative misconceptions that have been generated towards this gas (Ratner 7). Natural gas is colorless and odorless and produce high amount of energy when combusted with no significant emissions that negatively harm the environment. It is one of the most abundant gases in the United States but is rarely exploited due to the countries over reliance on fossil fuel. It contains high concentration of hydrocarbons including methane, ethane and propane, which are currently generated from fossil fuel at a much higher cost on the environment and economy.

As a country that is much preoccupied with fossil fuel, switching to natural gas can only be achieved through informed education approaches that provide the benefits of this source of gas as compared to the current source. This topic will be insightful in guiding the country’s energy policy makers in making a significant policy shift from fossil fuel to natural gas. A number of misconceptions also exist about natural gas as compared to fossil fuels that act to confuse the citizens as further.

This topic seeks to handle these misconceptions by providing an argumentative approach on why the country must adopt natural gas as opposed to the current use of fossil fuel (Knittel 3). Natural gas is cleaner as compared to fossil fuels thus making it the current fuel preferred by utility companies in the United States. With the current emphasis on the need to reduce emission of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, the need for the adoption of a much cleaner gas makes natural gas the gas of choice.

In addition, fossil fuels such as petroleum and gasoline, when combusted produces less energy as compared to natural gas but has higher amount of greenhouse effect as compared to natural gas. The increase in international lobbying for the adoption of safe and clean fuel supports the role of natural gas in the reduction of climate change, which occurs due to an increase in greenhouse gas emission from industries (Verrastro & Branch 5). However, natural gas has a finite nature that makes it unreliable source of energy to drive the massive industries in the United States and mitigate the impacts of global warming.

Those who belong to this school of thought argue that despite the fact that natural gas is much cleaner as compared to fossil fuels, it is not as clean to enable it contribute significantly in the fight against climate change. Decreasing the prevalence of climate change cannot effectively be done using natural gas, as the opponents would want us to believe. This is farther from the truth, as the fight against climate change cannot be won through one major initiative but through well-calculated policies, which significantly