Prosecutor Patricia Fix said sheriff's and state's attorney's investigators first received tips on Adams' alleged illegal activities in March 2005. Adams allegedly sent child pornography, via attachments to e-mail, to undercover police in Clearwater, Fla.

The alleged pornography includes both still images and at least one explicit movie of a boy masturbating, Fix said.

Several phony names were used in his alleged pornography trading, she said, but all were tracked back to Adams' home in the 800 block of Anderson Drive in Green Oaks.

After being taken into custody, Adams acknowledged that all of the screen names were his and that no one else used his computer, Fix said, adding that Adams admitted he had "a problem with addiction."

Defense attorney Thomas Briscoe argued for a minimal bond, saying Adams "has no criminal record, and these are all images, there are no live victims." Briscoe added that Adams "has been involved with public service most of his life."

Far beneath ranches and fields in North Texas lies the Barnett Shale, a geological formation that has quickly become one of the most sought-after energy exploration hot spots in the United States.

Just a few years ago, it was considered too expensive -- laughable even -- to extract the vast gas reserves trapped in the Barnett's dense black rock.

Thanks to a steep rise in energy prices and advances in drilling technology, the Barnett is now the nation's fastest growing natural gas field and the biggest in Texas.

"The amount of activity here is larger than anything I ever thought I would see" Jay Ewing, a Devon Energy Corp engineer who oversees some of its operations in the Barnett. "People have known that the Barnett's been here forever. But it was just thought too difficult to produce from."

The Barnett now produces 1.2 billion cubic feet of natural gas a day, and is estimated to hold as much as 36 trillion cubic feet of reserves that can be recovered -- enough to heat 540 million homes for a year.

Now, companies ranging from small private firms to the world's biggest oil producers are striking deals to grab a slice of its gas wealth, with Devon paying $2.2 billion in June to acquire Barnett Shale-focused Chief Holdings LLC.

CRACKING THE ROCK

The Barnett's rise began with Mitchell Energy, a Texas producer that drilled the first well in the shale 25 years ago, when the idea was considered off-the-wall at best.

"Some of our own employees were questioning if we were on the right track," says Ewing, who started out at Mitchell.

But Mitchell's persistence paid off, and in the 1990s, new technology that eliminated the need for expensive gels and chemicals brought drilling costs down. Mitchell was later acquired by Devon, now the biggest producer in the area.

Still, getting natural gas from the Barnett is a complicated process.

Under a scorching Texas sun one day in May, workers in grimy overalls and hard hats sat atop the Ponder drilling rig, monitoring pressure and the progress of a large pipe drilling thousands of feet into the ground to create a well.

At another site, workers pump sand and water at extremely high pressures to crack the rock, which in turn pushes the natural gas up the well. This so-called "frac" job is not cheap -- running as much as $300,000 a time -- but with gas prices at historic highs, the economics work fine.

HOTTEST PLAY AROUND

The Barnett is especially attractive to independent U.S. oil and gas producers who shun the risks of exploring overseas, but face limited access to energy-rich areas at home. Devon, for example, is among the most ambitious in the Barnett.

"With a lot of the political issues in other parts of the world, the U.S. is a safe place to look for oil and gas," said Devon Vice President Brad Foster.

Others have been beefing up their presence as well. Last month, Chesapeake Energy Corp. agreed to buy acreage for $845 million while Range Resources bought out another Barnett Shale player, Stroud Energy Inc., for roughly $456 million.

Larger players in the area include oil majors Royal Dutch Shell Plc and ConocoPhillips, which owns acreage in the Barnett through its recent acquisition of Burlington Resources Inc.

Their arrival has boosted local economies with new jobs, royalty checks and tax dollars that helped one town, for example, build a new high school football stadium that would have made any college proud.

But the companies are also learning to grapple with a growing community backlash as the drilling pushes rapidly into cities like Fort Worth, bringing gas wells and derricks to residential neighborhoods and backyards.

"We're losing more and more green space and we're gaining tons of new pollutants into the air," says Don Young, who leads Fort Worth Citizens Against Neighborhood Drilling Ordinance, which lobbies against drilling permits being awarded.

Still, analysts predict that won't stop the drilling and acquisition frenzy as companies expand from producing in the core region of the Barnett to outlying areas.

"It is the hottest play to be in right now," said Jefferies analyst David Tameron. "And the play is still in its infancy."

By the time a Coast Guard aircraft arrived and was able to drop three life rafts for the crew Monday morning, the ship was at an 80 degree angle, nearly on its side, officials said. The roiling waters shoved the rafts underneath the dipping port side of the 654-foot ship before the crew could secure them.

Rescuers tossed another raft toward the higher starboard side, but it was a 150-foot drop to the water.

A merchant marine ship crew that was nearby was unable to rig a line to the cargo ship, and the Cougar Ace's crew was losing power in its hand-held radio.

The helicopters appeared to the crew's best chance for survival.

"We made the decision to cram in everybody," said Master Sgt. Sal Provenzano with the Alaska Rescue Coordination Center.

In a daring rescue, the crew members, who had donned survival suits aboard their troubled ship, were hoisted Monday night into two National Guard Pave Hawk helicopters and a Coast Guard helicopter, then flown 230 miles north to Adak Island. One crew member with a broken ankle was to be flown by plane to Anchorage, Provenzano said.

It wasn't clear Tuesday morning if their cargo ship was still afloat or what had caused it to list.

The Singapore-flagged Cougar Ace - owned by Tokyo-based Mitsui O.S.K. Lines - was carrying vehicles from Japan to Vancouver, British Columbia, said Greg Beuerman, a spokesman for the ship owner.

"Obviously, the primary concern for all involved is the safety of the crew on board," Beuerman said Monday. "The vessel is of critical importance as well, but the first priority is the health and the safety of the crew."

The ship had been caught in rain squalls and 8- to 10-foot seas when it began to list. From Coast Guard aircraft circling overhead, officers spotted a 2-mile oil sheen in the choppy water. The ship had been carrying 430 metric tons of fuel oil or 112 metric tons of diesel fuel, and it wasn't clear how much had spilled into the northern Pacific Ocean.

Early on, the Coast Guard had alerted the clinic at the small town of Adak - a former Naval air station on the island of the same name - to gear up for treating at least one broken ankle and possible hypothermia cases.

Nurse practitioner Michael Terry said residents hustled to set up cots and blankets at the community center, prepare food and coffee, gather donations of warm clothing. The clinic rounded up emergency medics and braced for action.

"We actually were preparing to have an air disaster drill at the airport (Tuesday) so we moved it up a day," Terry said.