On March 25, I was honored to participate in a roundtable discussion convened by National Geographic as part of its Great Energy Challenge initiative. Along with a group of academics, government officials, and representatives of industry and nongovernmental organizations, we tackled key questions about the role of natural gas in a low-carbon future.

What became obvious in our conversations was that considerations for natural gas form only a small part of a much broader dialogue about our shared energy future.  The country—and indeed North America as a whole—will need to make some important energy decisions in the very near future.

Our electricity infrastructure is replaced only very slowly—the life of a nuclear plant is 40 to 60 years, a coal plant operates