As editor of The St. Petersburg, Fla., Times, has an interesting Q&A interview with Lisa P. Jackson, administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency.
Here's the question, and answer, that caught my eye:
[Q:] In 1999 the Clinton Administration's EPA sued Tampa Electric Co. over air pollution from its coal-burning power plants, forcing it to switch to cleaner-burning natural gas. Now your agency is trying to steer utilities away from fossil fuels entirely.[Jackson:] Burning natural gas for baseload power is like burning your antique furniture in the fireplace. There are so many other things you can use it for that are more constructive (including paints, fertilizer, plastics, antifreeze, dyes and medicines). The problem with moving the industry to renewable resources, though, is that renewables aren't cost-effective yet. But if we grow the industry right, then we can make sure we dominate the manufacture of renewable energy components.
If Obama's policy is to discourage burning natural gas to generate electricity, and using it instead as a feedstock for products including the items that Jackson listed, that sounds like good news for the North American plastics industry.