NATGAS

=MIke Richardson= =__What Is Natural Gas?__= Natural gas is natural hydrocarbon gas consisiting of many gases but mostly of methane. At first Natural gas was obtained by the burning of oil. In the 19th century Natural gas was very unpopular because it was hard to obtain and also if there was an left over product it was near impossible to transport it to buyers. The gas was only able to sell if it was near the resevoir it came from. Today unwanted natural gas is injected into pipelines that can store the gas until a buyer can be found. Natural ga can now be found in coal beds, natural gas fields, and oil fields but one of the main ways of getting natural gas is the process of Fracking. Fracking is the process of taking heavy machinery and digging into shale beds to obtain the methane needed to create natural gas. Fracking raises many enviornmental concerns, such as when the machinery extracts the methane there is a possibility that some gas can leak into the wayer and pollute drinking water of many people. =__Uses__= Natural gas is a major source of electrcity generation in gas turbines and steam engines. Natural gas is also used in many power plants, and off-grid engine generators. Natural gas burns more cleanly than other hydrocarbon fuels such as coal oil and coal and also produces much less CO2. For domestic use, Natural gas can be used in stove tops emitting heat up to 2000 degrees!!! Natural gas can also be used in clothes dryers, heating/cooling units. and central cooling. Compressed Natural Gas can be used in portable grills and can be supplied by Natural Gas companies but it less economical than propane so it is generally less common in home settings. Where CNG is less efficient in homes it makes up for it in transportation, and is much cleaner than gasoline and diesel fuels and 9.6 million people use Natural gas made vehicles.

=__Advantages of Natural Gas__= Natural gas is seen as the cleanest fossil fuel, producing less CO2 then coal or oil, and also produces far less pollutants then any other hydrocarbon fuels. According to the IPCC Fourth Assessment report, Natural gas produced about 5.3 billion tons a year of CO2, while coal and oil produced 10.6 and 10.2 billion. Demand for Natural gas is increasing about 1.9% a year which may lead to larger emissions of CO2. Methane of natural gas is already ocidized and when it is emitted into the atmosphere it only stays for 12 years while the CO2 in other greenhouse gasses has to be oxidized and stays in the atmosphere for up to 100 years.

=__Disadvantages of Natural Gas__= The practice of hydraulic fracturing, the process of using a combination of chemicals ranging from harmless to toxic to force natural gas to the surface from reservoirs with low permeability, has come under scrutiny internationally due to concerns about environmental and health safety, and has been suspended or banned in some countries. Also, during fracking the methane that is extracted can run into water used for towns and can be consumed and can cause death/sickness to many people.

=__Pricing__= The price of natural gas varies greatly depending on location and type of consumer. In 2007, a price of $7 per 1,000 cubic feet,was typical in the United States. Many other countries use natural gas as a trading tool. The EU is the largest importer of natural gas and a huge international buyer in the market. In a lot of other countries Natural gas is sold i its liquid form,