Thank you, Mr. Smith, for your kind introduction.
It is a pleasure to be here with the scientists and engineers who are engaged in research and development in this exciting area. I believe your collective efforts will provide our nation and the world with a clean source of energy for generations to come.
It is gratifying to note the impressive number of federal agencies here today, including the Departments of Energy, Defense, Interior, Commerce, and the National Science Foundation. I appreciate the participation of designees from the U.S. Geological Survey, Minerals Management Service, Naval Research Laboratory, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and Office of Fossil Energy. I am also pleased to see so many individuals representing industry and universities present at this conference. Your help in this effort is critical.
This gathering captures the intent of the Methane Hydrates Research and Development Act of 2000. The law envisaged strong coordination between federal agencies involved in methane hydrates research, industry and academia. Your presence today demonstrates a serious effort at coordination and cooperation. Individual organizations, particularly in the days of tight budgets and limited resources, must work together to successfully execute complex research and development programs. I would like to congratulate Assistant Secretary Michael Smith and his staff on this effort. I also extend my thanks to responsible individuals from other federal agencies for their efforts on behalf of this venture.
For the last few weeks, the Senate has been deliberating the most comprehensive energy bill in a decade. The crafting of energy policy requires tradeoffs between equally worthy policy goals. The discussion has centered broadly on issues such as inherent inefficiencies in our energy markets and whether governmental intervention is needed to protect consumers or the economy from problems that markets cannot address themselves. The debate highlights contentious and intractable issues such as how to boost energy supplies without exacting a toll on the environment; whether and how to reduce gasoline consumption and encourage the use of more expensive alternative fuels.
The House of Representatives has already passed a measure that encompasses its view of a national energy policy. It is my hope that the Senate will conclude its deliberations soon and that both chambers will confer in the near future to finalize a national energy policy that is visionary with regard to the nation's energy dilemmas.
Over the last 30 years, the United States and the rest of the world have been subjected to four major oil price shocks. As a nation we responded to the challenges posed by these episodes in various ways. We placed importance on conservation, more efficient use of energy, and development of alternative energy sources. We deregulated many aspects of energy markets to allow the marketplace to bring about needed efficiencies. We encouraged alternative fuels including solar, geothermal, wind, clean coal, and alcohol-based fuels. We have made impressive progress in meeting these energy challenges. But the basic questions remain: Is there an energy source that can help us decouple energy consumption of fossil fuels and economic growth? Can a carefully planned research program on a marginally known and potentially problematic energy source provide an environmentally acceptable energy source?
My long-term vision for our nation's energy picture is that sometime well into the 21st century, we will have a reliable, affordable, and clean energy source available to Americans and other nations. Reasonably priced energy is a necessity for enhancing global political stability and improving standards of living around the world. In our pursuit of cheap energy, however, we cannot ignore the environmental consequences of pursuing fossil fuels. Global climate change will emerge as one of the most profound challenges we face in the 21st century.
I believe fossil fuels will continue to be the major source of energy for the U.S. in the near future; natural gas will ultimately emerge as the dominant fossil fuel of choice. The U.S. will move toward natural gas and methane produced from methane hydrates. These fuels will be significant transitional resources. Ultimately, sometime in the latter part of this century, we will look to hydrogen as the primary energy source. I have worked very hard with my colleagues in the Senate to advance natural gas, methane hydrates, and hydrogen as fuels for the future.
A new age is dawning. As natural gas gradually displaces coal and oil, the increasing use of natural gas around the world is paving a path to a truly sustainable energy economy. The natural gas infrastructure that is being constructed and expanded in the United States and elsewhere will eventually lead to the use of hydrogen, but that reality is far in the future. Meanwhile, methane hydrates offer a very attractive transitional medium. Methane hydrates have the potential to help us answer the first question I posed a few moments back. I believe if we are able to characterize and extract this naturally-occurring, widely-available resource in an environmentally safe manner, we will be able to solve most of our energy problems and allow people globally to enjoy sustainable livelihoods.
In order to prepare for a future fueled by methane hydrates, our nation must have active and systematic research, development and demonstration programs. When I first introduced the Methane Hydrate Research and Development Act of 1997, I believed the research needed to include a better assessment of the quantities, location, and physical characteristics of methane hydrates, suitable technologies to allow efficient development of this valuable resource and appropriate, safe means of transport and storage of methane gas developed from methane hydrates. As you know, methane is a greenhouse gas and a concern with respect to global warming. Undersea landslides and seafloor collapses can abruptly release large quantities of methane. My bill emphasized consideration of environmental threats in the research. I am keenly awaiting the report to Congress from the advisory panel on the possible impacts of methane hydrates on the global climate change as required by Methane Hydrates Research and Development Act of 2000. This report will be important in assessing the future prospects of our efforts to develop this resource.
The U.S. is fortunate to have specialized expertise distributed across many agencies. Collaboration among federal agencies is essential to our success. The legislation recognized this critical necessity and called for coordination between federal agencies and partners in the private sector.
Methane hydrates provide the U.S. with important international challenges and opportunities. Many countries have shown great interest in developing methane hydrate resources. Japan, Canada, India, Germany, Norway, and Russia have active and aggressive hydrate research programs and have committed significant resources toward these programs. While wishing those countries well, I say to the Department of Energy and all federal agencies that methane hydrates are too important for America to fall behind other countries in the race to understand their potential.
Our commitment to a strong methane hydrates program means that we must explore all avenues for international cooperation. I am pleased that an international consortium consisting of representatives from Japan, Germany, Canada, India, and the United States has been formed to study the hydrates system in the Mackenzie Delta of the Northwestern Canadian Arctic. Cooperative efforts like this will help all the participants.
As we start our annual appropriations process for Fiscal Year 2003, I am disappointed that President Bush's budget request for Fiscal Year 2003 did not seek the full amount for methane hydrates authorized by the law. The Department of Energy is the nation's primary advocate for methane hydrates research and the Department's budget is critical to advancing our nation's scientific capabilities in this area. We need increased investment rather than a reduction from last year's appropriations. I understand that the Department is conducting a broad review of priorities and activities in the Office of Fossil Energy. This review may affect budgetary priorities in the future, and I hope this review signals an opportunity for renewed investment in and commitment to methane hydrates R&D.
In closing, I would like to say that the nation has undertaken a pledge to explore this viable energy source through the Methane Hydrates Research and Development Act of 2000. We must remain committed to ensuring that this important program is effectively and successfully executed. I commend all the researchers, agency personnel, and private sector partners for your efforts to advance our understanding of the potential of methane hydrates. Your efforts will help forge the direction of alternative energy in a significant way and I wish you a successful conference.
Unfortunately, I must leave for a Senate Governmental Affairs Committee business meeting that is critical this morning. I would have liked to spend more time here, but the Senate's schedule does not permit me to do that. Mahalo, thank you, once again, for the gracious invitation to address you here this morning. I have enjoyed it and wish you well.
Aloha.
