Utica Shale Gas
Utica Shale Gas is a natural gas produced from Shale (a fine-grained, clastic sedimentary rock composed of mud containing numerous other minerals) Utica Shale Gas has become an increasingly important factor in American energy production through the past decade. Some analysts expect that Shale Gas will constitute more than 50% of North American Natural Gas production by 2020. The Obama administration has featured Utica Shale Gas as an important part of their plan for American energy independence. Although the extraction of Utica Shale Gas releases a higher amount of Greenhouse gases than the extraction of normal Natural Gas, Utica Shale Gas is a cleaner burning fuel than Coal or Oil. Some groups claim that the greenhouse emissions of extracting Utica Shale Gas cause so many Greenhouse gases to be released that in the long run Utica Shale Gas is more harmful than Coal or Oil energy.