Like most people, I have a gas furnace in the basement. You can't beat the convenience, & the reliability has been amazing. There's never an empty line. Right now, the US has plenty of gas in storage. Our 55 billion cubic feet a day just keeps pumping.
So, is it time to panic? EIA is projecting 2 more good years. Which sounds nice, except that they always predict production increases, and are almost always wrong. They missed the run from $2 to $7, and they're missing the next run, from $7 to rationing.
North America is basically a 3 country closed gas market. Sure, we import a little LNG, but not much more than we pipe to Mexico. A few years ago, the pipes to Mexico flowed North - now they go the other way. US production is declining - although 2006 may end up even with 2005, thanks to lack of hurricanes. The reasons we have adequate storage are fairly basic : High prices & good weather.
Canada seems to have peaked also. Which is not a big deal in itself - the US peaked in 1971 & has almost maintained production since through ever increasing drilling. Page 5 of this ASPO report is the scariest gas projection I've ever seen. It has us going over a cliff - dropping 10% a year from here to nothingness. Hard to believe, but I'd like a technical refutation.
Oh - the other way methane will keep us warm? For years, the big hope has been finding a way to unlock gas hydrates, frozen in arctic bogs or ocean depths. It's looking like there is a way - just warm them up. Unfortunately, that's happening over very large areas, and the gas is escaping into the atmosphere. Warming the whole world, instead of just inside your house.
(Edited because I didn't really make my point - that if the ASPO projections are anywhere near accurate, we're facing some truly stunning problems)