| Energy is one
of the basic necessities of our universe. Huge amounts of
energy are used daily to move, lift, warm, cool and light
things. Most of our energy today comes from the three major
forms of fossil fuels: coal, oil and natural gas.
One of the most valuable fossil fuels we have is natural
gas. Natural gas is colorless, shapeless, and in its purest
form, odorless. (Because natural gas is odorless, gas companies
add a chemical to it that smells like rotten eggs. The odor
makes it easy to detect a gas leak.) Mainly, natural gas
is made up of a chemical called methane (CH4) -- a compound
that has a carbon atom surrounded by four hydrogen atoms.
Methane is highly flammable and burns almost completely.
As a result, there is no ash and very little air pollution
accumulated while using natural gas. For these reasons,
natural gas is considered to be the cleanest fossil fuel.
In addition to being an environmentally friendly domestic
product, it is also reliable, efficient and plentiful.
Because natural gas is readily accessible and it burns
very cleanly, the United States is exploring more ways to
use gas, particularly to generate electricity.
In many ways, natural gas is the ideal fossil fuel. It
is clean, efficient, plentiful and convenient to use.
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