Americans should increase investments in natural gas energy to avoid overdependence on foreign oil, said an energy specialist in a heated discussion Wednesday afternoon at Harvard University.
Chesapeake Energy CEO Aubrey McClendon spoke about alternative energy sources as part of “The Future of Energy” lecture series, sponsored by the Harvard University Center for the Environment.
McClendon spoke to an audience of about 250 students and Harvard faculty members who interrupted the lecture on several occasions to object to some of his views on natural gas as an efficient form of energy.
McClendon said the answer to climate change risk reduction and cheap electricity is natural gas. He added that the United States consumes one-fourth of all natural gas produced in the world, though it also produces the same amount it consumes.
“Natural gas has twice the energy capability as Saudi Arabia has in oil,” McClendon said. “If we were to stop drilling now, depletion would happen at 30 percent per year, which is why we need to reinvest.”
The natural gas Chesapeake uses is obtained through shale, coal, steams and tight sand. Natural gas also comes at a cheaper price, for $30 a barrel, while oil costs up to $80 a barrel, he said.
Another advantage natural gas has when compared to oil and coal is its cleanliness, McClendon said.
“Natural gas produces 50 percent less carbon dioxide than coal and 30 percent less carbon dioxide than gasoline,” McClendon said.
Although McClendon’s statistics portray natural gas as the ideal solution to more environmentally friendly and efficient energy, some audience members werenot convinced.
“One thing I didn’t like was his inaccurate scientific claims,” said Harvard graduate student Jonathan Buonocore, who does climate and public health research. “Natural gas does cause pollution in the surrounding wells and methane becomes carbon dioxide when it decays.”
Buonocore said this topic is important for everyone to be aware of because everybody is being affected by energy sources and climate change.
Several people in the audience coughed and made noises during the lecture in objection to what McClendon said.
“The audience was embarrassing,” said Harvard Business School professor George Baker.
Research Assistant for the Center for Environment at Harvard University Ben Urquhart also said he was disappointed in the audience’s behavior.
“I was irritated by the response of the audience. It’s not the place to be yelling and screaming,” he said.
Despite some negative reactions, other audience members said they appreciated McClendon’s professional perspective.
“I’ve been studying this subject for a few months now,” Urquhart said. “This speaker is one of the most famous CEOs in the field.”
Harvard junior Joe Corning said he was also interested in seeing where and how Chesapeake is expanding its business.
“Natural gas and fossil fuels are the energy of the future,” he said.
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