Achieving clean air.

In cities and towns across America, state and local government officials, businessmen, and individuals are grappling with ways to clean up the environment.

State officials, already trying to cope with reduced federal funding and make ends meet in tough economic times, are searching for ways to reduce pollution without budget increases. One of the best solutions? Look to transportation.

In some metropolitan areas, up to 70 percent of all pollution is caused by vehicles; cars, trucks, and buses that burn gasoline and diesel fuel and emit reactive hydrocarbons and carbon monoxide into the air. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, more than half of all Americans live in areas where it can be unhealthy to draw a breath.

Transportation accounts for two-thirds of the oil consumed in the U.S. Our thirst for imported crude oil has increased by 60 percent in the past six years. Today, we rely on foreign oil for nearly 50 percent of all domestic energy requirements.

This staggering addiction is taking a heavy toll on the U.S. economy. We paid more than $55 billion to foreign oil producers in Iran, Saudi Arabia, and elsewhere in 1990, well over half of our $101 billion trade deficit. In 1991, oil imports accounted for two-thirds of our trade deficit.

What can state legislators do about air pollution and oil dependency? Move to displace gasoline and diesel fuel in the transportation sector with clean-burning, safe, American natural gas. State legislators have that power.

There are many alternative fuels competing for a share of the new transportation market resulting from Clean Air Act emissions standards. I want to tell you why natural gas is the superior alternative fuel.

First, natural gas is an abundant American fuel competing against a foreign fuel.

Second, natural gas is the cleanest burning of all fossil fuels, emitting up to 90 percent less reactive hydrocarbons and carbon monoxide than conventional gasoline.

Third, greater use of natural gas will create new jobs and jump start the U.S. economy--and state economies as well--by creating a new industry and building a new transportation infrastructure, as well as reducing the U.S. trade deficit.

Fourth, natural gas won't cause an environmental disaster. During 1990, there were more than 15,000 reported oil spills in the U.S. You can't spill natural gas. Natural gas dissipates into the air when it is accidentally released--which is why it's also the safest vehicle fuel.

Finally, natural gas is more economical than any other transportation fuel. In today's financial climate, this argument is perhaps the most compelling.

Natural gas is cheaper and more efficient than gasoline, methanol, or ethanol. You can go twice as far on $10 worth of natural gas as you can on gasoline. And, because it is cleaner-burning than these three, natural gas reduces operating and maintenance costs significantly.

This cheap fueling price means that fleet operators, especially those without surplus millions to spend, can and will save money over the long-term. The upfront expense of installing a natural gas fueling station and converting vehicles to run on natural gas will pay for itself with the money saved on fueling.

Some fleet operators already realize tremendous benefits--and savings--with natural gas vehicles. In Garland, Texas, the local school district has converted its school buses to run on natural gas. This conversion to safe, inexpensive natural gas has already saved the school district 45 cents per gallon equivalent, and reduced maintenance costs by more than 50 percent. It's also helping to clean up Garland's air. By leading the way to convert state fleets to natural gas, you can achieve similar savings for taxpayers.

Often, state and local governments bear the burden of laws and regulations imposed by legislators in Washington, legislators who often seem out of touch with the costs that inevitably come with these programs. As a result, state officials increasingly look to public-private partnerships in the effort to meet Clean Air Act requirements.

Let me tell you about my innovative approach to natural gas vehicles in Phoenix, because it promises to be a model for other Clean Air Act cities. Government, municipal and private fleet owners can have their vehicles converted to run on natural gas, often with no upfront costs. This includes the installation of necessary fueling stations. In exchange, fleet operators merely agree to repay the upfront costs over a period of time by purchasing lower-priced natural gas at the equivalent price of gasoline or diesel. Long-term benefits to fleet operators are reduced maintenance costs and compliance with the Clean Air Act. Out of a mutually beneficial economic relationship comes a cleaner environment.

As state legislators look for solutions to their environmental problems, only one choice makes environmental and economic sense: clean, cheap, American natural gas. Natural gas is the transportation fuel of tomorrow available today.

Boone Pickens is chairman and chief executive officer of MESA Inc., one of the nation's largest independent natural gas producers, and currently serves as chairman of the Natural Gas Vehicle Coalition, a consortium of utilities, auto makers, equipment manufacturers, and other companies seeking to expand the market for natural gas vehicles.