this is methane hydrate gas. so in any case, we think we still have the opportunity to help fulfill the promise of other energy technologies. the blue river commission came out with a set of recommendations. we're taking those very seriously and our budget includes $60 million for nuclear waste, r&d, that aligns with the recommendations of the blue river commission. now, in unleashing american innovation, president obama also said the world is shifting to an innovation economy. and nobody does innovation better than america. in today's innovation economy, we also need a world class commitment to science and research. to that end, our budget calls for $5 million to the office of science, which promotes -- which funds much of our more fundamental research with its mission. its mission being the department of energy missions. we have now five hubs -- three that are up and running, two more that are in preparatory stage of foas. these hubs, and if you add the centers that are the prototype of our hubs that were start

and meanwhile funding for research on carbon capture and sequestration and methane gas hydrates and minimization of the impact of shale gas development will allow us to utilize fossil fuel resources in a responsible way. this budget also provides funding to address critical grid modernization issues through a new electricity systems innovation hub and significant funding increases for advanced energy efficient manufacturing. this holds a promise of providing jobs for the future. it's important to recognize that the research and development programs that i've mentioned here cannot fully meet the challenges of bringing new energy technologies to the commercial marketplace. the capital requirements to move promising technologies from the lab bench to pilot scale and finally to commercial scale are enormous. our overseas competitors have figured this out. they are moving aggressively to gain an edge in clean energy technologies, much of our effort to support domestic players in this race has occurred through the loan guarantee program, that's a proposal that senator domenici and i made. at its core

this is methane hydrates gas. in any case, we think we have the upper cyndi to help fulfill the promising opportunities of energy technologies. the blue ribbon commission came up with recommendations. we are taking those seriously. the budget includes $69 that aligns with recommendations of the blue ribbon commission. in unleashing the american innovation, the president said the world is shifting to an innovation economy. today's innovation economy needs a world-class commitment to science and research. to that end the budget calls for $5 billion to the offices of science, which funds most of our fundamental research with its mission being the department of energy missions. we have now five hubs that are up and running, two more in a press report -- preparatory stage, and if you add to that, the bio energy centers, which we are the prototype of the hubs, there is a lot of good things coming out of the first set of hubs. our budget calls for a new hub on -- systems, the navigation a power distribution, how you sync

this is methane hydrates gas. so any case, we think we still have the opportunity to help fulfill the promise of other energy technologies. the blue-ribbon commission came out with a set of recommendations. we're taking those very seriously, and our budget includes 60 million for nuclear waste r&d that aligns with the recommendations of the blue-ribbon commission. now, and unleashing american innovation, president obama also said the world is shifting to an innovation economy. nobody does innovation better than america. today's innovation economy, we also need a world-class commitment to science and research. and to that end our budget calls for $5 billion for the office of science, which funds much of our more fundamental research with the commission of course, commission being the department of energy. we have now five hubs, three or that are up and running, two more that are in preparatory stage of foa. these hubs, and then if you add to that the bioenergy centers, which are whether prototype of our hub that we

i understand that methane hydrates are going to continue to be a part of the natural gas technologies r&d budget, which is good. we're not the only country, of course, that is working on this. we've got a good partnership going with japan. i guess the question to you on this is right now there is a -- they're scheduled to conduct a major test up in alaska in partnership with japan on hydrate flows and pressures. i know doe had hoped to follow up on this december. i'm wondering if you can tell me what the level of commitment is from doe to continue this public/private -- the progress that has been made to advance the research in area that i think we recognize holds great potential. it may be farther out in the distance than some of the technologies that are in front of us. but exciting if we can get there. so can you give me any updates? >> sure. >> and specifically the commitment doe has to this. >> sure. we're going ahead with this tests. it's done in connection with conocophillips. japan is very interested because they have methane hydrate reserves off their coast. and as you noted,

hydrate off the pacific coast. this will be the first offshore attempt to extract the substance. it's formed deem underground. when methane gas is trapped in water chris centrals, the ice like material can be extracted and burned like natural gas. japan oil gas and metal national corporation says drilling will begin in mid february about 07 kilometers in central japan. the organization will try to extract the methane hydrate next january to see if stable and long-term drilling is possible. >> translator: extracting the methane hydrate effectively is a really big challenge. if we can start commercial production, methane hydrate will be one of the few domestically produced energy resources. >> it is believed the test site could supply the equivalent of about 14 years of natural gas consumption. next we go to bangkok to find out what's going on in the region. >> pakistan's supreme court says it will charge the prime minister with contempt. the case seeks further pressure on the prime minister from the judiciary at the same time as he faces strained ties with the military. the court said on thursday that the prime minister will b

gas. and i look forward to the opportunity to speak with you more about that. just segueing here, we also have had the chance to talk about arctic meth and hydrates and the great potential that we have. i understand that meth they're going to continue to be a part of the natural gas technologies and are budget which is good. we're not the only country, of course that, is working on this. we have a good partnership going with japan. i guess the question to you on this is right now there is a -- there's scheduled to conduct major test up in the arctic in los angeles in partnership with japan on hydrate flows and pressures. i know doe had hoped to follow up on this test. so i'm wondering if you can tell me what the level of commitment is from d.o.e. to continue this public-private -- the progress that has been made to advance the research in an area that i think we recognize holds great potential. it may be further out in the distance than some of the technologies that are in front of us. but exciting if we can get there. can you give me any updates? >> sure. >> specifically the commitment that the d.o.e. has to this. >> sure. we're going ahead with this test. jap

hydrate off the pacific coast. it will be the first attempt app is widely seen as the future of energy. it is formed deep underground when methane gas is trapped in water crystals. the material can be extracted and burned like natural gas. japan oil gas and metals national corporation says drilling will begin mid february, about 70 kilometers off the peninsula in central japan. the organization will try to extract it by next january to see whether stable, long term drilling is possible. >> translator: extracting it effectively is a big challenge. if we can start commercial production, methane hydrate will be one of the few domestically produced energy resources. >> it is believed the test site could supply the equivalent of 14 years of natural gas consumption. >>> for ten months, tokyo electric power company could only guess what was happening in the reactors that suffered melt downs at the fukushima daiichi nuclear plant. last month, it got its first clear view. they sent a fiberoptic camera into one of the reactors. on today's nuclear watch, we look at what they found and failed to find. yoshiyuki yamasaki has this story. >> it wa

technologies and me while funding for research on carbon captor and sequestration and methane gas hydratesnd minimization of the impact of gas development will allow us to utilize a fossil fuel resources in a response to wall way. this budget also provides grid modernization issues reach a solution to grid modernization issues through an electrician's innovation hub. this holds a promise of providing jobs for the future. it is important to recognize that the research and development programs that i mentioned here cannot fully meet the challenges of bringing new energy technologies to the commercial marketplace. the capital requirements to bring promising technologies from the laboratory to commercial scale are enormous. our competitors have figured idea. they're moving aggressively to gain an edge in clean energy technologies. we are trying to support domestic players in this race. id has occurred through the loan guarantee program. that is a proposal that was made as part of the 2005 energy policy act. at its core, the loan guarantee program is intended to allow the government, in the cas

hydrates more as something that plugs up their lines. rather than a potential source. and just like with shale gas, if it looks like it can be developed and industry gets invested in it as part of the strategy, then they can take it over. right now the program being done in alaska is actually being directed by a d.o.e. scientist. so it is a research project. but it's just one part of that research project. after this stage, we see it continuing. >> well, and i think that's important, because we recognize that apparently there is $12 million now proposed in this budget for all methane hydrate research next year. it's my understanding that this test is going to -- it's going to be more expensive. so the commitment from d.o.e. to continue that i think is going to be important. again, we'll follow up on this -- this conversation. thank you, mr. chairman. >> senator wyden? >> thank you, mr. chairman and secretary chu. you've been a patient soul. you've sat in that seat for 2 1/2 hours. as you can tell up on this side of the dais there are pretty diverse views with respect to energy. folks who care abou

methane hydrates are going to continue to be part of the natural gas technology research and development budget. that is good. we are not the only country working on this. we have a good partnership with japan. right now, there is a a major test scheduled in alaska in partnership with japan. i know you hope to follow up on this test. i am wondering if you can tell me what level of commitment is from the department of energy to continue this public-private -- with the progress that has been made to advance the research in an area that i think we recognize holds great potential. it may be further out in the distance than some of the technology and front of us, but exciting. can you give me any updates? >> we are going ahead with this test. japan is very interested because they have reserves off the coast. as you noted, if one can figure out how to extract it, it could be as significant or far more significant than the technology that was developed for shale gas. we are looking forward to the test. the test is one part of a program going forward before industry would want to begin to invest

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gas, it costs more. >> shouldn't you just not be a jerk anyway. >> keep your car hydrated. check all of your air filters, belts, hoses, all of that stuff. battery, tires. don't put too much stuff in the trunk in the car. don't be a jerky driver. you're like, i drive the same but the price is still going up. i get it. a lot of people are really angry about it. the president will be talking later today about his energy policy. almost a year ago he was talking about energy policy and how to use it. a little bit of everything approach to weaning us from foreign oil and more domestic production. >> super quick before the president does that, what you just put up, that list, does that make a big difference or are we just talking about couple dollars? >> you know, i'm not going to quantify because i'm not sure how much of a difference it makes. it does make a difference, but the price is going up faster than you can make a difference. >> christine, thanks. >> i know that tires make a difference. i've done it. so thanks for the reminder. tweet it out for us. >> i will. >> it is 13

methane hydrate is an ice-like substance in which methane gas is trapped in water crystals. japan's efforts to extract methane hydrate from the seabed is the first in the world. >> translator: if we get this first step right, the development will go smoothly. so we want to make it a success. >> scientists at the european space agency say an ocean may once have existed on mars. the scientists made the announcing after analyzing data from the mars express orbit. they say it found sediments of low-density material beneath the surface of much of the red planet's northern hemisphere. they say the sediments show that an ocean may have existed billions of years ago. the scientists say the ocean may have been created by melted ice. they say the ocean would not have existed long enough to sustain life. >>> here's now your extended weather forecast. >>> and that's all for now. i'm shery ahn. stay tuned for more news on nhk world. . .