Authored by Gary Abernathy via RealClearEnergy,
This article was originally published by The Empowerment Alliance and is re-published here with permission.
Over the years as it grew more powerful, the climate cult’s assault on fossil fuels typically left no room for compromise. Ending all reliance on anything but so-called renewables was the position that the energy industry and the government were expected to embrace, with various just-around-the-corner end dates arbitrarily set to bury the fossil fuel industry once and for all.
But for the climate change zealots, one pesky fly in the ointment made such goals clearly unreasonable – natural gas. Instead of slowly and cooperatively dimming its flame until it was extinguished, natural gas by necessity has continued to flourish.
Fracking technology made natural gas extraction easier and more affordable than ever. Its relative cleanliness compared to other fossil fuels made it more difficult for environmental extremists to reasonably rail against it. And industries realized that there was no more effective, reliable and affordable energy source for the electricity grid than natural gas.
Of course, the most extreme environmentalists did not let the facts sway them, continuing to demand an immediate end to all fossil fuels. But those advocates of a move toward “green” energy who were interested in maintaining a level of credibility began to somewhat soften their stance. Demonstrating at least a slight grasp on reality, they began to refer to natural gas as a “bridge” to a renewable future.
One example of such thinking came from Yale Climate Connections, an initiative of the Yale Center for Environmental Communication based at Yale University. In a 2016 article presenting the pros and cons of natural gas, climate journalist Bruce Lieberman advised, “Consider natural gas a ‘bridge’ fuel for a growing renewable energy economy,” and quoted a report from the Joint Institute for Strategic Analysis that noted that natural gas and renewable energy “can help contribute to a low-carbon, resilient, and reliable electrical grid by diversifying the electricity mix and hedging risk associated with market and policy uncertainties.”
Lieberman, though, seemed skeptical that natural gas would keep pace with renewables to jointly account for future electricity generation shares. He pointed to California, where “the current oversupply of natural gas and a boom in solar, wind, and other renewable energy sectors ‘has depressed power prices and threatened the viability of natural gas plants,’” as he noted Reuters reporting at the time.
Predictions of the demise of natural gas join a long list of inaccurate energy forecasts from a decade or more ago. As we now know, natural gas has become even more important as the demand for affordable and reliable electricity grows. In Texas, for instance, the coming expansion of AI data centers has led to plans to develop private, dedicated gas plants to bypass existing grids and make sure electricity generation is reliable and uninterrupted. Poignantly, it is those very AI programs – powered by electricity from natural gas – which will help conceive of new energy technologies of the future.
What’s becoming clear to everyone except the blindest ideologue is that natural gas is not a bridge to tomorrow. It’s the superhighway of the future. Natural gas will continue to lead the power surge of the 21st century, and, for at least the next few decades, “renewables” will at best augment natural gas or at times serve as a backup.
Because the fact is, the current demands of our energy landscape require the use of natural gas, and the predicted future electricity demands make natural gas the essential energy driver not only in the U.S., but around the world.
Whether someone can be considered a reasonable conservationist or a wild-eyed climate zealot can be determined by whether they insist on an all-or-nothing approach that will guarantee falling short of our energy needs, or balance their environment and climate concerns with the stark reality of our current and future energy requirements – choosing to support (even if grudgingly) the cleanest, safest, most abundant and effective energy resource in existence.
No blueprint for meeting future energy demands that calls for eliminating or even minimizing natural gas can be considered a serious proposal. Wind, solar, and especially nuclear are good supplements for natural gas. But we’ve already crossed the bridge to tomorrow, with natural gas leading the way and fueling a future that is cleaner, brighter and filled with promise.
Gary Abernathy is a longtime newspaper editor, reporter and columnist. He was a contributing columnist for the Washington Post from 2017-2023 and a frequent guest analyst across numerous media platforms. He is a contributing columnist for The Empowerment Alliance, which advocates for realistic approaches to energy consumption and environmental conservation. The opinions expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Empowerment Alliance.