On any day in Tallahassee, you see cars on the road. People are busy driving to the mall, to work or to pick up their children from school. Most people don’t enjoy walking to their destination.
What caused society’s craving for wanting to drive instead of walk? Maybe it’s the need for speed and the invention of the automobile.
With a world evolving around technology, everything is faster, from McDonalds’ fast food to a high-speed Internet connection.
And now society is about to pay for the need for speed. The supply of natural gas is running low and there is no replacement.
When speaking of supply, Roger Cooper, AGA’s executive vice president for policy and planning said, “People need to understand that there are three different concepts.”
The first concept is resource: how much gas is out there for development at today’s prices. The second concept is reserves: how much gas is producible. The third concept is productive capacity: how much gas can be produced now.
According to a Florida Natural Gas newsletter, traditional gas producing areas in the United States will provide 75 percent of the country’s gas needs, but will be unable to meet future projected demands.
The city of Tallahassee can relate to this problem, especially with the on-going issue of the coal plant. Tallahassee is one of the many cities across America trying to figure out how to consume natural gas or find a substitute.
Lawmakers and regulators in Tallahassee and around the nation will have to make one of the hardest decisions facing America today. They will have to decide how to fuel America.
We suggest using solar power or hydroelectric power to supplement the supply of natural gas.
Angela A. Green for the Editorial Board