Here is an interesting cartoon about methane hydrates on the North Slope of Alaska. This is funny in a way to me because the amount of methane mentioned as being potentially available is dwarfed by the amount that can be gotten from shale (Barnett, Haynesville, Fayetteville, Marcellus, and others) in the contiguous US. I estimate the amount at more than 4000 trillion cubic feet, enough to fuel the US for 200 years. And this does not include the methane available from conventional sources in Alaska. My estimate is based on an eventual price of $12 per thousand cubic feet. This huge supply is why methane currently costs $3.30 per thousand cubic feet. Sarah Palin's pipeline for transporting the large supply of conventional gas available in Alaska to the lower 48 states also causes the price to stay low.