WASHINGTON — Sen. Ron Wyden begins his tenure as chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee with a hearing today on natural gas, which is cleaner compared with other fossil fuels such as oil and coal and whose supply has dramatically risen in recent years largely because of an extraction technique many environmentalists oppose.

The Oregon Democrat said he wants to hear from all sides as Congress tries to find a balanced way to encourage gas production, protect the environment and safeguard public health.

Wyden said natural gas is here to stay and it’s up to Congress to find ways to make sure it’s extracted and used responsibly.

“We’ve got it. The world wants it. It’s cheaper here than it is around the world. And it’s 50 percent cleaner than traditional fossil fuels,” he said. “The question is can you find bipartisan support for what I call a sweet spot, where you could have some exports of natural gas but not so much that you raise the price on American manufacturers?”

The rise of hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking,” during the past decade has allowed the energy industry to tap into vast reserves of natural gas trapped within shale rock in the Mountain West and the South.

According to the Energy Information Administration, 95 percent of the natural gas used in this country comes from domestic wells. Production is expected to increase from 23 trillion cubic feet in 2011 to 33.1 million cubic feet in 2040, a 44 percent jump, according to the EIA.

But environmentalists say fracking harms the environment because chemicals, sand and vast quantities of highly pressurized water are pumped underground. The Natural Resources Defense Council, or NRDC, says fracking might have contaminated drinking water systems in Arkansas, Colorado, Pennsylvania, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia and Wyoming.

Congress shouldn’t focus so much on natural gas that it neglects renewable sources such as wind and solar energy because they, too, are vital to creating a low-carbon economy, Wyden said.

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