The Observation Deck

it is frequently cheaper to transport gas via pipeline than via truck. But it is enormously expensive to build, maintain, and replace natural gas pipelines. It is more expensive today than yesterday because of enormous administrative, safety, and legal costs. These costs would have to be built in to the cost consumers pay for the natural gas. If the intent is to replace gasoline burning cars with natural gas burning cars, the enormous increase in demand would again cause a giant increase in the cost of natural gas.

a few percentage drops in supply frequently cause several dozen percentage point increases in price. That is what happened last winter. A giant increase in demand has the same impact as a decrease in supply: it makes the relative supply lower, even if total supply increases slightly.

No matter how many times the words "innovative" and "global" are used in articles promoting the increased utlilization of natural gas, it doesn't improve our nations supply or ability to buy natural gas on a scale to significantly replace or substitute our present consumption levels of gasoline. Even when words like "compete in the economy of the 21st century" and "winning the global war on terror" and "grow the economy and reduce the deficit by lowering taxes(on the rich and on imports;)) are used in the same article.

it is frequently cheaper to transport gas via pipeline than via truck. But it is enormously expensive to build, maintain, and replace natural gas pipelines. It is more expensive today than yesterday because of enormous administrative, safety, and legal costs. These costs would have to be built in to the cost consumers pay for the natural gas. If the intent is to replace gasoline burning cars with natural gas burning cars, the enormous increase in demand would again cause a giant increase in the cost of natural gas.

do you have any facts on how long a natural gas pipleine last? or on the building cost of a pipeline?