MSNBC Cosmic Log:
http://cosmiclog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2010/05/27/4377419-oil-spills-energy-lesson-for-obama
Oil spill's energy lesson for Obama
excerpt:
"Berkeley physics professor Richard Muller, author of the new textbook "Physics and Technology for Future Presidents," says Barack Obama could learn a lesson from the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. Using offshore oil to solve America's liquid energy security issue poses a bigger problem than previously thought, he said. You won't find the professor's answer to the problem in the back of the book, but it can be summarized in two words: natural gas.
"The thing the president really needs to know is that we have huge supplies of natural gas; that although it's not liquid, compressed natural gas is an alternative fuel for U.S. automobiles. And U.S. policy has not taken advantage of that in any significant way," Muller told me today.
Natural-gas drilling is fraught with controversy, but in the wake of the Gulf oil spill, policymakers and energy-industry executives may well shift their focus from offshore oil to onshore natural gas, Muller said. That's not something Obama is likely to talk about when he visits the Louisiana coast to assess spill damage on Friday. He's more likely to play up his administration's new steps to go slow on offshore drilling. Nevertheless, Muller said the oil-spill crisis provides Obama with a golden opportunity to widen the debate over America's energy options."
http://cosmiclog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2010/05/27/4377419-oil-spills-energy-lesson-for-obama
Oil spill's energy lesson for Obama
excerpt:
"Berkeley physics professor Richard Muller, author of the new textbook "Physics and Technology for Future Presidents," says Barack Obama could learn a lesson from the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. Using offshore oil to solve America's liquid energy security issue poses a bigger problem than previously thought, he said. You won't find the professor's answer to the problem in the back of the book, but it can be summarized in two words: natural gas.
"The thing the president really needs to know is that we have huge supplies of natural gas; that although it's not liquid, compressed natural gas is an alternative fuel for U.S. automobiles. And U.S. policy has not taken advantage of that in any significant way," Muller told me today.
Natural-gas drilling is fraught with controversy, but in the wake of the Gulf oil spill, policymakers and energy-industry executives may well shift their focus from offshore oil to onshore natural gas, Muller said. That's not something Obama is likely to talk about when he visits the Louisiana coast to assess spill damage on Friday. He's more likely to play up his administration's new steps to go slow on offshore drilling. Nevertheless, Muller said the oil-spill crisis provides Obama with a golden opportunity to widen the debate over America's energy options."