It's almost impossible to overestimate the importance of fracking to the natural gas industry and the nation. It's also difficult to understate the controversy surrounding the environmental issues of the rock fracturing technology.

Our special report, "Who's Winning The Natural Gas Game?" addresses both issues and more.

Just a few years ago, the operating assumption of both government and the industry was that the U.S. was running out of recoverable natural gas and would soon be importing large amounts to meet our needs. Shipping terminals to receive liquefied natural gas from abroad needed to be built — and fast.

Now, the industry is talking about a 100-year supply and is building export terminals to ship our liquid natural gas to other countries.

What's changed? In a word, fracking. Though the technology of rock fracturing to access natural gas (and crude oil) from shale formations had been around for decades, it has come a long way in a short time, thanks to public- and private-sector innovation.

At a time when crude oil seems precious and more vulnerable to geopolitical forces than ever, and the push for renewable fuels has yet to yield a variable alternative to fossil fuels, America's bounty of natural gas seems like a slam dunk on the road to energy independence and a rebirth of America's economic muscle.

So, what if....

House and Senate Work Simultaneously to Create Budgets, a Rarity

Latest GOP Budget Is Ambitious, Unlikely to Pass

Can Partisanship Be Fixed?

Gridlock, Then and Now

ARRRGH! Entrepreneurs Vent About Obamacare Costs

More Imbalance of Power