Natural Gas, the Stealth Energy Crisis

Andrew N. Liveris, the chief executive of Dow Chemical, insists that Americans are facing the worst energy crisis in their history. They just don’t know it yet.

“American consumers worry about oil and the price of gasoline,” he said. “They should worry that there may not be enough natural gas to heat and cool their homes.”

..Q. Many companies talk about replacing petrochemicals with corn-based ingredients or about switching to wind or solar energy. Wouldn’t that be a solution to soaring gas prices?

A. Not yet. The world is not ready to pay the full cost of developing alternative fuels and ingredients. Ten years from now, wind and solar will still represent less than 1 percent of the world’s energy input.

The New York Times