Reply #9: Greenspan Ditches 'Green' for Natural Gas [View All]

[ze_dscherman]

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Federal Reserve (news - web sites) Chairman Alan Greenspan (news - web sites) on Thursday said growing U.S. demand for natural gas to fuel factories and electricity plants may outweigh environmentalists' desire to preserve wilderness areas that contain energy reserves.

A sharp rise in natural gas prices and an unusually low stockpile of the fuel has grabbed the attention of the Bush administration and lawmakers. As a result, Greenspan -- whose appearances on Capitol Hill usually feature discussion of broad economic trends -- was asked to testify at the Senate Energy Committee on the impact of high gas prices.

The Senate will resume debate on a broad energy bill later this month. The Bush administration and many Republicans want to allow drilling on more federal land in the Rocky Mountains, while Democrats and environmental groups support energy conservation and renewable fuels.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=570&ncid=753&e=7&u=/nm/20030710/sc_nm/energy_greenspan_dc