Canonsburg, Pa. – Earlier today, former Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge, our nation’s first Homeland Security secretary, discussed the benefits associated with American natural gas on FOX News’ Your World with host Neil Cavuto. Below are key excerpts and remarks from Gov. Ridge, who serves as a strategic advisor to the Marcellus Shale Coalition (MSC).

Click HERE to watch this segment on the MSC’s YouTube page.

REDUCING AMERICA’S OPEC RELIANCE THROUGH AMERICA NATURAL GAS

  • “The situation in OPEC, again, reminds us that we spend about half our dollars that we export — and that’s about $1 billion a day — that goes to that region. And we have plenty of supply of natural gas here in the states.”

DOMESTIC NATURAL GAS AS A TRANSPORATION FUEL

  • “The last calculation I think I saw that the equivalent of the same energy would be about $1.50 a gallon if we equipped our fleets and our vehicles with natural gas. And we don’t’ have to worry about instability, I don’t think, in the United States of America. We just drill some of these wells, create a demand by empowering our fleets, adapting our fleets. And all of the sudden we are not so reliant on oil from unsavory and sometimes unacceptable regimes, such as Libya.”

NATURAL GAS IS A CLEAN, AFFORDABLE, AMERICAN RESOURCE

  • “I’m also a huge fan of natural gas. The fact of the matter is that it is cheaper. It is clear, it is abundant, it is much cleaner. And oh by the way, it is made in the United States of America. And if you’re worried about the competitiveness, you have cheaper electricity. If you’re worried about the o-zone layer, you’ve got two-thirds fewer emissions. And you don’t have to worry about importing anything, it’s made in the USA.”