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It keeps our homes warm, our showers hot, and our clothes dry – natural gas is vital energy resource.  The U.S. used about 27 trillion cubic feet of natural gas in 2016, mainly to heat buildings and generate electricity, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. “Natural gas is one of the cleanest, safest, and most useful of all energy sources.  Because natural gas is the cleanest burning fossil fuel, it’s playing an increasing role in helping attain national goals of a cleaner environment, energy security, and a more competitive economy.  The two million-mile underground natural gas delivery system has an outstanding safety record,” explains the American Public Gas Association (APGA). But what is it, and where does it come from?   Natural gas has been known since ancient times, seeping through the ground and sometimes linked to flames.  “Around 500 B.C., the Chinese started using crude bamboo ‘pipelines’ to transport gas that seeped to the surface, and used it to boil sea water to get drinkable water,” APGA reports.  “Naturally occurring natural gas was identified in America as early as 1626.”  It was used as a source of light, and later for home heating and cooking.  About 99 percent of natural gas used now in the U.S.