| About
natural gas
Natural
gas is a combustible, gaseous mixture of simple hydrocarbon
compounds, usually found in deep underground reservoirs formed
by porous rock. Natural gas is a colorless, odorless fossil
fuel composed almost entirely of methane, but does contain
small amounts of other gases, including ethane, propane, butane
and pentane.
Natural
gas is used extensively in residential, commercial and industrial
applications. It is the dominant energy used for home heating
with about 51 percent of American homes using gas. The use
of natural gas is also rapidly increasing in electric power
generation and cooling, and as a transportation fuel.
Natural
gas is the cleanest burning fossil fuel, producing primarily
carbon dioxide, water vapor and small amounts of nitrogen
oxides. Other fossil fuels are coal and oil, which together
with natural gas, account for about 88 percent of U.S. energy
consumption.
Currently,
oil provides the largest share of U.S. energy consumption
-- about 41 percent of the entire market. Natural gas provides
about 24 percent, coal 23 percent, hydropower 4 percent and
nuclear power 8 percent. However, about one-half of the oil
Americans use is imported; in contrast, 85 percent of the
natural gas U.S. consumers use is produced domestically. The
remaining 15 percent primarily comes from Canada via pipeline.
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