The Fight Over Using Natural Gas for Transportation: Antagonists

America is facing one of the biggest giveaways in its history. It possesses almost unlimited reserves of natural gas. If it used these reserves to fuel the vast fleet of heavy duty vehicles in use in the trucking industry it would be free of dependence on foreign oil and be free of smog and pollution of air resulting from the exhaust of gasoline and diesel powered vehicles. But most importantly, it would likely be free of the high prices that motorists are paying for gasoline and diesel at the pump.

But it is not going to happen because the powers that be with the complicity of politicians are even now building huge export facilities to ship this resource overseas.

The benefits of using natural gas for transportation far outweigh the disadvantages. This is recognized by almost everyone familiar with the industry. It is possible within a few years to have hundreds of thousands of natural gas vehicles on the road in America.

If this were to happen there would be increased competition resulting in downward pressure on the price of gasoline and diesel fuel; the trade deficit attributed to the importation of oil would be substantially decreased if not altogether eliminated; the export of petroleum products would substantially increase; the annual injection of hundreds of billions of dollars into the economy that would otherwise be sent overseas would stimulate economic activity and cause the creation of hundreds of thousands of jobs; the air would be cleaner; there would be less money funding terrorism.

This has not happened because a menagerie of special interests, private-funded institutes and organizations, certain industries and individuals, emerged to lobby and defeat legislation to make it happen.

The Fight Over Using Natural Gas for Transportation exposes the underbelly of corruption in American politics and the underhanded tactics of major players who benefit (in terms of billions of dollars) from the status quo.

This is the second report by Western Research Institute, Inc., on the twisted politics that have accompanied the discovery of huge natural gas reserves in the United States and the unprecedented rush to develop them. The first report was entitled How America Can Stop Importing Foreign Oil & Those Preventing It From Happening.

America has huge reserves of natural gas, enough to take care of the country’s energy needs for the rest of this century and more. Only a few other countries have more reserves than are found in the United States.

There is a massive drilling campaign underway within the continental U.S resulting from discovery of new shale oil fields or plays and the development of horizontal drilling techniques and fracturing. This has resulted in the production of more natural gas than the country can currently use.

The United States is in position to be free of dependence on imported oil, of smog and pollution resulting from the exhaust of diesel and gasoline powered vehicles, and relief from the high prices of gasoline and diesel at the pump. All the country needs to do is switch to natural gas to power its buses, trucks, and trains.

But America needs to wake up to the fact of these new-found riches. Switching to natural gas can put millions of people to work, put extra dollars in every motorist’s pocket and leave hundreds of billions of dollars in circulation in America instead of being sent overseas. This is not a simple task and requires legislation from Congress. It’s a job that America is able to accomplish for the benefit of the majority; however, there are powerful minority interests that block its path.

This report is about identifying the powerful minority interests that are working to block any legislation that would further putting natural gas to work to power heavy duty trucks that ply America's highways. It is a motley group of companies, institutions, and individuals that stand in the way of what is in the best interests of the country and its citizens.