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| FOSSIL FUELS | |
 May 23, 2001  |
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After this background report, experts debate the Bush administration's energy proposals focusing on fossil fuel supplies.
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MARGARET WARNER: The big three fossil fuels -- oil, coal and natural gas -- powered America's economy for most of the 20th century. And our need for these fuels will only grow in the 21st, predicts the author of the Bush energy plan, Vice President Dick Cheney.
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| Energy consumption | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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In production, too, the fossil fuels dominate. Domestic energy produced from coal, natural gas and oil far outstrip what's produced from nuclear, hydropower and other renewable energy sources. Oil is found in 13 states, with the biggest production in the Gulf Coast region. But domestic oil production has declined over the past 20 years, and America's use of foreign oil has risen sharply. America's dependence on imported oil surged to 52 percent last year, up from 35 percent in 1973.
President Bush 's energy plan calls for expanding production of all three fossil fuels, and the president says that, thanks to new technologies, it's possible to do that without harming the environment. |
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VICE
PRESIDENT DICK CHENEY: Whatever our hopes for developing alternative
sources and for conserving energy -- and that's a part of our plan --
the reality is that fossil fuels supply virtually 100 percent of our
transportation needs and an overwhelming share of our electricity requirements.
For years down the road, this will continue to be true.
MARGARET
WARNER: Oil and natural gas dominate U.S. energy consumption, providing
62 percent of the nation's overall energy supply. Oil heats businesses
and homes and provides nearly all of the country's transportation fuel.
Coal remains the dominant fuel for electrical power plants. It generates
more than half of America's electricity, far outstripping every other
source. Natural gas is increasingly popular with electric power plant
operators and homeowners. Half of all Americans now heat their homes
with natural gas. 
Natural
gas reserves are being tapped in 18 states, with half the nation's supply
coming from Texas and the Gulf Coast of Louisiana. But the sudden surge
in natural gas popularity has outstripped the available supply, causing
its price to surge as well. Coal is plentiful in the U.S. The top coal-producing
mines are in the central and Midwestern states and the Rockies. Coal
production is relatively cheap, but it has come under fire for environmental
degradation at mining sites and for the carbon emissions and pollutants
generated when it's burned to produce electricity. 
PRESIDENT
GEORGE W. BUSH: We must work to build a new harmony between our energy
needs and our environmental concerns. Too often Americans are asked
to take sides between energy production and environmental protection.
The truth is, energy production and environmental protection are not
competing priorities. 
MARGARET
WARNER: The president's plan calls on the federal government to offer
tax incentives to encourage new oil and gas drilling; permit oil and
gas drilling on federal lands, including the Alaska national wildlife
reserve or ANWR [Arctic National Wildlife Refuge]; ease regulations
against drilling for oil and gas offshore; ease environmental rules
on coal-burning power plants; spend $2 billion to research so-called
"clean coal" technology; and, streamline the regulatory process
for building new power plants, refineries and pipelines.