Plans to build a natural-gas power plant in Oregon reflect the
need to move this region, state, and nation away from relying
too much on coal-fired power. But there is an equal potential
danger in seeking to make natural gas a centerpiece of the
country's long-term strategy to generate electricity. Expanded
use of natural gas, if it is done right, will buy time for Ohio
and other states that are overly dependent on coal, as wind and
solar power and other renewable energy sources gain a stronger
foothold. It can promote the application of cleaner-coal
technologies. But excessive reliance on gas could derail markets
for renewables and hurt northwest Ohio's efforts to create
clean-energy jobs. Natural gas is plentiful now. Previously
inaccessible shale deposits are getting unlocked by advances in
hydraulic fracturing of bedrock, combined with horizontal-
drilling techniques. But natural gas, like all other fossil
fuels, is finite. Power plants fired by natural gas emit far
less pollution than coal-fired plants. B