Welcome to Energize, a podcast brought to you by G0 Media's Blue Circle Studio and presented by

NBridge. I'm J.J. Ramberg. I don't think anybody wants to turn the lights off or turn the

air conditioning off or turn the heating off in the middle of winter. And so we need to have a

unified approach on how we meet those demands, meet our responsibility to the environment,

and our responsibility to a safe and secure world abroad.

Over the last four episodes, we've been examining what a realistic energy transition could look like.

We've looked at the macro-level geopolitics, the practical considerations, and some of the really important partners needed along the way.

Today, we're talking about the potential role natural gas could play in that transition, and how advocates from both sides of the political aisle can work with local communities

to build a strong energy future.

In this final episode of Energize, Enbridge CEO Greg Ebel is joining me for a conversation

with Congressman Tim Ryan, a Democrat from Ohio.

He served 10 terms in the House, and over that time, his state's relationship

to the energy sector changed drastically. Ohio's part of the Rust Belt and used to be a major

manufacturing hub in North America, but that industry slowly petered out over the 20th century.

Since then, the energy industry swooped in to fill the gaps in Ohio's economy,

creating new jobs in everything from solar to EV to natural gas. One major development on this

front was the Utica shale, a dense rock that lies deep under the northeastern United States.

Back in episode one, you'll remember we talked to Dan Yergan about how shales like

the Utica can yield massive amounts of natural gas. Drilling in oil production from the Utica

shale began in Ohio in 2011, about halfway through Congressman Ryan's time in the House of Representatives,

and he watched it revitalized the Ohio economy. Since leaving Congress in 2023, he's become a vocal

advocate for the natural gas industry. And he talks about the major role that natural gas can play

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