Suchergebnisse

I. The Approaching Energy Disaster -- 1. What Is Energy? -- 2. What Part Does Energy Play in Our Lives? -- 3. How Do We Get Our Energy Right Now? -- 4. Shall We Run Out of Energy in Our Time? -- 5. How Long Does It Take to Develop and Build Up a New Technology? -- II. Alternatives: What Could Replace Our Exhausting Fuels? -- 6. The Dream of Cheap, Clean Atomic Energy -- 7. Fission Reactors-What Can Go Wrong -- 8. Dreaming About the Future: Abundant Clean Energy from Atomic Fusion -- 9. The Most Available Energy Source: The Sun -- 10. Converting Solar Energy to Useful Fuel -- 11. Household Energy from the Sun -- 12. Transport and Industry Run On Electricity and Hydrogen -- 13. Tides, Geothermal Heat, and the Big Winds -- 14. Energy Storage and Transmission -- III. The Hydrogen Economy -- 15. Methods of Mass-Producing Hydrogen -- 16. The Storage of Abundant Clean Energy -- 17. Beyond the Hydrogen Economy: Some Futuristic Ideas -- IV. Extrascientific Considerations -- 18. The Politics of Survival -- 19. Answers.

Abundance, cleanliness and widespread distri bution are great incentives for the application of solar energy to man's energy requirements. Recent and impend ing fuel shortages, cost increases of energy and environ mental degradation have provided strong incentives for the development of solar energy for wide practical use. However, its low intensity and high variability impose severe econo mic problems in converting it to useful forms. Conversion of solar radiation to thermal, electrical and mechanical energy has been well demonstrated in numerous experi mental systems. Of these methods, those of greatest current interest are the production of heat for the heating and cooling of buildings and the direct, or indirect, conversion to elec tricity. In favorable locations, the costs of solar heating and cooling equipment under development appear to be nearly competitive with fuels; hence, this application is ex pected to be widespread within a very few years. Electric power from solar energy is not now competitive with conventional supply and is, therefore, a longer term possibility.

A serious energy situation awaited the incom ing Nixon administration in 1968. It stemmed from the fact that the nation was, and continues to be, in a period of transi tion from a long era of cheap and abundant indigenous energy and neglect of environmental consequences to one of scarcity of acceptable clean fuels, growing dependence on foreign energy imports, inadequate development of alternate clean energy sources and a growing interest in maintaining, or enhancing, environmental values. Reacting to the chal lenge, the Nixon administration adopted an energy policy designed to ensure an adequate and dependable supply of energy to meet the country's essential requirements and to assure its prosperity and security in ways which are con sistent with the nation's environmental and social goals. The administration has moved to stimulate increased utiliza tion of all energy sources found within the United States, including those of the outer continental shelf, and to remove artificial price and bureaucratic barriers which restrict the flow of gas and oil to markets. Suggestions have been made for the extensive reorganization of the execu tive branch which would enhance the government's ability to perceive and respond to energy problems and opportuni ties. The administration has taken steps to conserve energy in its operations both as a substantive measure and as an example to others. Actions have been taken—and others proposed—to use more fully private and public funds and expertise to solve the problems of finding new clean energy sources and to make currently used sources less environ mentally degrading. Steps have been taken to reduce the regulatory and administrative impediments which slowed, or prevented, construction of needed energy producing facili ties. Finally, the Nixon administration has moved in concert with other nations both to conduct research in the energy area and to discover means of preventing future energy shortages.

THE 1970 CLEAN AIR ACT WAS A LAUDABLE RESPONSE TO A SERIOUS AIR POLLUTION PROBLEM. IN CONTRAST, ITS 1977 AMENDMENTS WERE PRIMARILY AIMED AT ATTAINING AN ASSORTMENT OF DISTRIBUTIONAL GOALS FOR A POWERFUL COALITION OF SPECIAL INTERESTS THE AMENDMENTS, WHICH PRIMARILY REGULATES COAL-BURNING POWER PLANTS, ARE ANALYZED RELATIVE TO THE BASE CASE 1970 ACT. FOUR PROVISIONS ARE DISCUSSED QUALATATIVELY.

THE AUTHOR MAKES A STRONG CASE FOR REPEAL OR DRASTIC REVISION OF THE AMENDMENTS. DISTRIBUTIONAL IMPACTS, HE SAYS, SUGGEST THAT EASTERN COAL AND INDUSTRIAL INTERESTS, WESTERN AGRICULTURE AND TOURIST-ORIENTED BUSINESS INTERESTS, AND ENVIRONMENTALISTS GAIN AT THE EXPENSE OF WESTERN COAL INTERESTS, ELECTRICITY CONSUMERS, UTILITIES, AND NATIONAL POLICY GOALS.

Nuclear energy offers important benefits in helping to meet the nation's future energy needs: it helps con serve other fuels for purposes for which they are uniquely suited; it provides a competitive source of energy with costs which do not vary appreciably with location; it significantly reduces the problem of air pollution and has other important environmental advantages; it is a positive element in our foreign trade; and it provides freedom from overreliance on foreign energy sources. While coal, oil and gas are projected to continue sharing in the growth of the energy market, nuclear energy can, and must, make a vital contribution towards meeting our future energy requirements in a safe and environmentally acceptable manner. Although the emerging nuclear industry is going through a difficult period of growing pains, it is basically healthy; the future of nuclear energy is bright. Throughout our nation, there is a basic ap preciation of the fact that our social and economic system requires the continuing availability and proper utilization of clean energy supplies. There is also a growing awareness of the need for decisive actions to assure that our future energy requirements are met while the quality of our environment is simultaneously protected and enhanced. In the years ahead, while we should continue to explore the potential of new energy sources, we will need to rely on energy supplies which can be efficiently produced from every practical source. Each of these sources must be used in the most optimum fashion, consistent with environmental considerations.

This country is not yet involved in an energy crisis of paralyzing proportions; nor is such a crisis inevitable. Yet, we have been drifting into "crisis country," and shortages will worsen if the nation does not face the fact that its energy budget is very much out of balance. Our national energy policies—inherited from an era of carefree abundance—call for promotion, growth and lavish use of energy. These policies are outmoded. In simple terms, our predicament today is that we are making less, but using more, energy. In order to avoid an energy breakdown, we must face disagreeable facts, abandon old habits and make the difficult choices in volved in shaping new policies. To make overall sense, energy decisions should be measured against some basic social goals upon which most of us can agree: (1) adequate supplies; (2) protecting the environment; (3) keeping prices reasonable; and (4) avoiding foreign policy problems. While imported oil can serve as a stopgap solution for our immediate energy problems, we cannot expect to continue raising the scale of our imports to match spendthrift demands indefi nitely. In the long run, the course which will best serve the important goals of energy policy is one that will attack the waste in our energy consumption and slow down growth. At the same time, it is essential that we mount the urgently needed effort for research and development of new, cleaner and more abundant energy sources.

Reuse of record except for individual research requires license from Congressional Information Service, Inc. ; CIS Microfiche Accession Numbers: CIS 80 H401-22 ; Bibliography: p. 98-106. ; Microfiche. ; Mode of access: Internet.