U.S. reserves of natural gas are now estimated at 2,074 trillion cubic feet, the energy equivalent of 345 billion barrels of oil

    Methanol, processed from natural gas, is an alcohol, much like ethanol. Methanol unlike ethanol needs no extensive lands for cultivation, no distillation, no transportation and is far more environmentally friendly. Any car that can burn gasoline with 15 % ethanol can burn gasoline with 15 % methanol.

    So why don't we using Methanol and become more energy independent from imported oil. The answer is lobbyists - the farm lobby has successfully blocked methanol from the markets for decades by lobbying both Democrats and Republicans.

    Methanol has been field tested with studies on California highways conducted over a period of 25 years and 200 million miles and has proven its superiority over ethanol on the road. Even today 60 service stations in California still supply methanol to satisfied customers. Why haven't we heard about Methanol superiority over ethanol from Washington DC and the national news media.

    The Methanol story gets even better. Methanol can substitute for ethanol, because it has the same characteristics. Distribution of Methanol costs less because there is a network of natural gas pipelines already servicing most of the United States. Conversion plants can generate methanol close to local markets at half the price of ethanol’s transportation as well.

    Large reserves of the U.S. shale gas means that we can expect a 100-year supply of cheaper fuel. U.S. reserves of natural gas are now estimated at 2,074 trillion cubic feet, the energy equivalent of 345 billion barrels of oil. That is more than 10 times our current petroleum reserves.

So next time the political candidates tell you they want America to be energy independent ask them why we aren't aggressively switching to Methanol not ethanol