James Rogers, the longtime chairman of North Carolina-based Duke Power, said environmentalists should make their peace with natural gas and hydraulic fracturing because of its contributions to dramatic cuts in carbon dioxide emissions from power generation. Rogers said the substitution of natural gas-fired generation for coal-fired power plants has lowered U.S. CO2 emissions to 1990 levels and to 1960's levels on a per-capita basis. "Natural gas is transforming our industry," Rogers told an audience at the IHS CeraWeek energy conference in Houston. Natural gas production can be done responsibly and its contribution to lower carbon and other emissions outweigh concerns about natural gas' possible impacts on water and air in areas where it is produced.
-- Jim Fuquay
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