Journal #16 Natural Gas

The Avid Weekly Article, Natural Gas: Cheap, Clean and Risky is about the pros and cons of using natural gas rather than coal.  The article also talks about the effects of converting from coal to natural gas would have on the economy.  I believe that converting to natural gas is a great idea.  However, natural gas is only a good investment if there are not leaks in the system.

Using natural gas instead of coal is very beneficial.  One way it is beneficial is natural gas emits only half as much carbon as coal does.  This is extremely beneficial to the world because it would help decrease the amount of carbon in the atmosphere.  Using natural gas would create a new renewable energy.  This is very beneficial because there would probably be less conflict over other sources of fuel and people wouldn’t have to worry about what would happen if we run out of coal or oil.  Using natural gas rather than coal, oil, and other fossil fuels would be greatly beneficial to the Unites States because the cost per unit of energy is only a third of the cost of oil.

Unfortunately there are also many cons of switching from fossil fuels to natural gas.  One con is that natural gas could be a worse generator of greenhouse gases than coal.  This means that if there are leaks in the natural gas system, then global environmental issues could become worse because there would be more greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.  Global warming would increase.  Natural gas could cause massive local environment destruction and undermine energy efficiency and renewable energy.  Lastly, figuring out where to drill, and actually drilling would be very expensive.  There would be surface disturbances on roads, drilling rigs, compressors, pipelines, drainage ponds, and heavy equipment.  Even though money would be saved by not using oil, the money saved would be used to pay these expenses. 

In conclusion, I think that while there are many benefits to using natural gas and that finding a way to successfully use natural gas should become a priority, I do not think the United States is ready to convert to natural gas yet because the cons outnumber the pros and there would be many expenses.      

           

Journal #15 Amish Project

I think I would take up going for walks or going for bike rides, a lot like Jake Reilly because it is a good way to be productive, rather than spending a day staring at a screen and causing potential vision loss.  I would probably read more books as well, because it is a good was to pass the time and reading is one of my favorite things to do.  I would also practice the instruments I play more often for a larger amount of time because I wouldn't have something else catching my interest.  I spend my time reading a ridiculous amount of my American History textbook, because my class made a facebook group (and a giant google doc during midterms) where we share notes, documents, and talk about the homework.  I may take up painting because I am very interested in art.  I would probably take up visiting my friends at their houses because I woulodn't be able to talk to the via text. and I barely see most of my friends during school.