In his New York Times column today, Joe Nocera calls for passing the Boone Pickens Act, which would create incentives for wider use of natural gas. Nocera presents this as a no-brainer: We need to stop using oil, and natural gas is an abundant resource in the United States and burns cleaner than coal. Also, you can use natural gas for cars, which isn't possible for wind or solar energy.
The Pickens bill creates tax incentives -- $1 billion a year for five years -- to encourage manufacturers to begin building heavy-duty trucks that will be powered by natural gas instead of diesel. It also gives some tax incentives to truck-stop owners who install natural gas filling stations to help create the infrastructure.
Nocera acknowledges that this isn't a long-term or complete solution, but says it would make a difference. That it would. But natural gas exploration, excavation, and use doesn't come without problems; they're just different from the problems with oil and coal. Burning anything is an environmentally poor solution. More important, communities across the country have found that the natural-gas companies degrade the land. Arkansas, where much of the Fayette shale is located, has been experiencing little earthquakes somewhat regularly. They haven't done much damage -- yet. Scientists won't say for certain that the geological disturbances are the result of big machines pulling materials out of the earth, but you know, studies take time.
In the meantime, the idea that natural gas is a solution could lure us into a false sense of complacency. What we need to do is actually very clear: reduce use and incentivize creative solutions that will shift us permanently away from burning fossil fuels. All that's needed is the political and cultural will.
