By Alicia Shepard, NPR's ombudsman, responding to comment from listeners regarding Tom Gjelten's series on gas drilling in the Marcellus shale.

"New technology has made natural gas a promising alternative in reducing the United States' dependence on other countries for energy sources. Natural gas is cleaner than other fossil fuels, and some experts say there's enough untapped natural gas in the U.S. to last 100 years.

"So it made sense in late July for NPR to develop a series of reports on natural gas -- especially since the potential of natural gas was a surprise to NPR editors and to reporter Tom Gjelten, who was assigned to the project."

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