AMERICA'S GATHERING ENERGY CRISIS

WASHINGTON, D.C. I t's hard to say who's more admirable in this tale of common sense and bipartisanship -- Rep. John Peterson or Rep. Neil Abercrombie. The conservative Pennsylvania Republican who made a compelling argument on a critical national issue or the liberal Hawaii Democrat who didn't get caught up in cliches and saw the wisdom of his argument.

A few years back, Peterson was making the case for ending the congressional ban on natural gas exploration in the Outer Continental Shelf. Congress has passed the ban each year since 1981, and he was working in committee to lift it. But he didn't think he had the votes and said he was withdrawing his amendment. Wait, said Abercrombie. He had found Peterson's case convincing and was ready to deliver Democratic votes.

A congressional debate that actually led lawmakers to change their minds on a big issue -- amazing. It also led to an ongoing partnership. Last year, that partnership resulted in a House vote to lift the exploration ban. (It died in the Senate.) Now the two partners will go back at it with a new and improved bill.

Peterson's still making the case. The only thing that's changed is his sense of urgency. "Our gas production is actually declining," he says, "and the consumption is rising faster than ever."

For the last six years, U.S. natural gas prices have been the highest in the world. They're set to skyrocket again this year -- 23 percent in the Northwest, 29 percent in Southern California, 32 percent in Texas. Something to do with the law of supply and demand.

"We've never had competitors like China and India, and they have cash," Peterson says. "They're securing energy for the future of their economies. We're not.

"The United States is the only country in the world which prohibits production of gas and oil deep beneath our oceans," he says, referring to the area within 200 miles of our shores. "If 85 percent of our Outer Continental Shelf remains off limits for natural gas exploration, . . . we will undoubtedly become a second-rate nation."

And this will occur as second-rate nations tap the oil and natural gas beneath our waters. Cuba is going after the energy we've locked up. And recent technological gains will allow companies from other nations to slant-drill into our fields.

Price increases will rock Americans who heat their homes with natural gas, but the economic wreckage won't end there. Natural gas generates nearly a quarter of all U.S. electricity, and it's a major industrial component. Peterson fears a future in which our fertilizer comes from Russia and our glass, bricks and tiles come from Trinidad, where natural gas costs $1.25 per decatherm. It's now $7.94 in the United States. He says the price differential has already resulted in the loss of 750,000 U.S. manufacturing jobs.

Peterson's amped-up urgency stems from the fact that it will take eight to 10 years to bring supplies on line after we've tired of pink slips and higher energy bills.

But aren't alternative fuels the answer? Part of it, sure. But many alternatives rely on natural gas. Ethanol and biodiesel? Natural gas is a key component in their production. Ditto for hydrogen.

Peterson and Abercrombie's National Environment and Energy Development Act would make permanent the ban on oil and gas leasing within 25 miles of shore, but allow gas leasing on the next 25 to 50 miles if a state approves. It also permits gas leasing from 50 to 100 miles unless a state votes to maintain the moratorium. Beyond 100 miles, gas leasing can start immediately. The leases will generate about $400 billion. A quarter of that will go to the U.S. Treasury, and 37.5 percent to producing states. Another 8 percent ($32 billion) will fund the Strategic Energy Efficiency and Renewables Reserve for research. And 2.5 percent ($10 billion) will go toward weatherization and low-income energy assistance programs.

After Peterson sketches a bleak natural-gas-poor future and bemoans the lack of urgency on the part of Congress and the Bush administration, there's only one question: Is there any good news? "There's really no good news on natural gas," he says.

At the risk of being Pollyannaish, I think he's wrong. There is some good news in Peterson and Abercrombie's sensible bill. And the true bipartisan understanding at its core.

David Reinhard, associate editor, can be reached at 503-221-8152 or davidreinhard@news.oregonian.