The New York herald., 1921-01-16
NATURAL GAS WILL
LAST ONLY 20 YEARS
Supply Being Exhausted by
Reckless Use. Warns En-
gineer Expert.

Americas natural gas supply is being
exhausted by criminal negligence and
reckless extravaganza. according TO Prof.
Robert H. Fernald. head of the depart
ment Of mechanical engineering in the
University OF Pennsylvania. who in a
survey for the American Society Of Me-
ehanical Engineers urges the use of by
product producer gas TO relieve an acute
national situation.
The rapid exhaustion Of our natural
gas supply through criminal negligence
and reckless extravaganza resulting in
drastic restrictions in order TO conserve
what little we have left brings us
abruptly to a realization of the situation
and leads us seriously to query regard
ing possible substitutions for this re-
markable natural fuel" says DR.. Fer
nald. formerly engineer in Investigations
upon gas producers for the United States
Geological Survey and the Bureau OF
Mines
THE situation is acute. It is there
fore imperative that we begin exhaustive
Investigations to determine the most
practical solution of the Industrial prob
lens that have been for many years past
so vitality dependent upon our natural
gas supply. The results reached through
such Investigations may lead into chan
nels quite different from those under
consideration at the present time as the
necessity of the situation may develop
unthought Of possibilities.
with the limited amount of study
that has been given to this problem to
date. the most conspicuous source of
relief seems to be through the Develop
ment of by-product producer gas. This.
Of course is practically an unknown
6a1 N he Uni Sfaf SngG in
attempts to develop interest have come
TO the attention of engineers from time
to time. but no serious study of the stu-
alton in its relation to the larger COM
mercial developments of the country has
as yet been undertaken.
I'm Europe VIC find by-product pro-
ducer gas somewhat extensively used and
the large central station near the mines
recovering the by-products from the fuel
and distributing the gas under pressure
for several miles through the industrial
districts. has become dependable source
of supply
Through the abundance of our fuel
supply and our Indifference to the needs
OF future generations we have been ruth
lessly extravagant and wasteful Of our
fuel resources during the past decades.
An appreciation of the necessity of re-
covering by-products has bnt recently
/ received thOughtful consideration from
/ those agencies that are most seriously
interested In the problems of fuel conser-
! vation
! AT the present moment low tempera-
/ ture distillation processes arc attract
ing more than casual attention. Inves-
! tiga ton may show a combination OF low
I temperature distillation and the manu-
facture of by-product produces gas to
be a distinctly economical and CONNER
! clal solution of our natural gas prob
lens, as these processes one the one
hand, lead to the maximum by-product
recovery. and. on the other. to supply
4 Of gas commercially adaptable to heat
/ ing and general industrial processes.
"Our natural gas situation is n seri-
GUS one. The solution requires more
I than the casual financial interest OF the
/ private dividend seeker. 1t requires sys-
tematic study and research involving the
\ expenditure of large sums Of money. II
is a problem Of national Importance and
must be attacked on a broad basis. II
calls for the best thought and most seri-
Gus consideration Of the ablcst experts
! available. financially supported from
sources that will guarantee the results
of the investigation to be free from in
dustria or commercial bias
ut has been estimated that two dec
AIDES will sec the total exhaustion of the
natural gas supply. We cannot afford
to walt longer"