Gas Pain

A war involving Iran has caused a major problem for India’s energy supply. Qatar, one of the biggest gas producers in the world, had to stop production after being attacked. This wiped out 20% of the world’s gas supply almost overnight.

Why this matters for India: India gets about 40% of its imported gas from Qatar. Since that supply is gone, India has to buy gas from other places where the price has jumped from $10 to $25 in just a few days.

This gas is used for three main things: 1) Farming – To make fertiliser so we can grow food. 2) Transportation and homes – Fuel for CNG cars and gas for kitchen stoves (PNG). 3) Factories – To power big industries like glass and pottery.

How it affects you: 1) Higher bills – Even though the government tries to save enough gas for homes and cars, the price will still go up because the gas we do have is being mixed with the super-expensive imported stuff. 2) Car troubles – Many people bought CNG cars recently because they were cheaper and cleaner than diesel. But now, prices are rising and the lines at gas stations are getting even longer. 3) Cooking Gas – Over 33 crore people use LPG cylinders for cooking. Since most of that comes from the Middle East, those prices are likely to go up too.

Is there a solution? Short-term, India has to find other countries (like Australia or Canada) to buy gas from. But long-term, the answer might be biogas. Instead of digging for gas underground, we can make it from waste. India has a massive amount of “trash” that can be turned into fuel. For example, cow dung, leftover straw from rice farms and city garbage.

Right now, we aren’t making nearly enough biogas. If we started turning our waste into energy, we wouldn’t have to worry so much about wars in other countries affecting our kitchen stoves.

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