For the first time in many years, natural gas costs about the same as coal in East Asia. This is a very important opportunity for East Asian countries like China, Japan, Taiwan, and South Korea. For years coal has been the main energy source because of its large abundance and its low cost. This has had a huge social and economic impact in terms of pollution and efficiency. Burning coal emits around double the amount of harmful pollutant into the atmosphere as burning natural gas. For countries with pollution problems, like China, switching from coal is not an easy choice. Until recently, producing and transporting natural gas has led it to be too expensive for realistically replacing coal. Now that costs have dramatically decreased, the ability for East Asia to begin relying more heavily on natural gas is feasible.
I find this article very interesting because sometimes we forget to think of the effects of event outside of the U.S. I have friends and family in the oil business who lost their jobs recently due to the drop in oil prices. It is refreshing to see that there is a positive side to these events.
From a marketing view, this is a very good example of the importance of "product". Both natural gas and coal can do the job of providing an energy source, so the consumer has to look at more than just its use. All the aspects of the product, including the cost, supply, and environmental effects, must be taken into account.
Article by: River Davis and Andrew Jeong
Post by: Zachary Micklitz
https://www.wsj.com/articles/fall-of-natural-gas-prices-speeds-energy-shift-in-east-asia-11587290400
I really like your post because it really shows how important natural gases are. Sometimes we tend to forget gas is limited because we always eventually pump gas in our car without much of a thought.
ReplyDeleteIt is crazy to think that natural gas is around the same price as coal. For someone that lives in the U.S it is absurd to even think of using coal in our daily lives instead of natural gas. If the Easter Asian countries have the chance to switch from coal to natural gas I think it'll be great. Especially since pollution due to the constant burning of coal can be high. I agree with the marketing view and how the costumer has to really look into which would be the better choice.
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