Former General Electric chairman Jack Welch sees in America’s abundant natural gas reserves a force that could usher in a new economic era for our country. In an interview on CNBC’s Squawk Box, Welch, who was selected by Fortune as the “Manager of the Century” following his tenure at GE, described the potential for natural gas to usher in a new American century:

“This gas thing is huge. The gas that we have found is in the first inning. It’s like the Internet in 1990. This is the first inning of the great American century.”

For all his optimism, however, Welch does see a potential pitfall: government regulation.

Removing barriers to developing natural gas is every bit as important as resolving the fiscal cliff of spending cuts and tax increases that looms ahead said Welch.

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