Natural Resources

Natural resources, such as coal and oil, are the key sources that help us live the life-style of today. Coal provides the energy needed to generate more than half of our Nation’s electricity. Coal resources are abundant and still relatively inexpensive. The USGS helps the Nation identify the cleanest coal to use in power plants. Oil is the source of gasoline used to power cars, trucks, and boats as well as a source of compounds that go into making plastics, synthetic materials, and even medicines. Natural gas is used to heat many homes. The USGS provides the Nation with estimates of how much oil and gas remains and where it might be found.

The development of energy resources provides jobs for many people and contributes to our Nation’s economic health. Removing coal, oil, and natural gas from the Earth, however, can affect the environment. Therefore, scientists need to study ways to minimize the negative effects of developing and using energy resources.

Scientists also are investigating new sources of clean, abundant energy. Of all the fossil fuels in use today, natural gas, or methane, is the cleanest burning. Methane may be the fuel that helps our Nation make the transition to using hydrogen gas as an energy source by the second half of this century. Energy produced from hydrogen gas would not generate harmful pollutants or carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas.

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