Basic HTML Version
COOLING AIR
OUTLET STACK
WCF SOLIOS STORAGE BINS
since 1970. Yet they provide abou t
75% of U.S. encrgy req uirements.
Encrgy expens say regardless of
whcther or not na tural gas is de–
regula ted. it wi ll supply only half
thc energy in 1990 that we are get–
tin g from it today.
On the other hand, U.S. energy
consumption has grown an ave rage
of 3% an nua lly over the past 70
years - and recently, even raster
than that. The relalionsh ip between
ene rgy consumption and economic
growth is well known .
Even the most conservat ive and
op timi stic projections say we will
need to doub le our energy con–
sumption by th e year 2000.
Ultimare energy sou rces such as
nuclear fusion, the su n. the wind.
ocean thermal gradients, bioconve r–
sion, and geothermal power are the
most desirable alternatives to oi l
and gas. an d they should be devel–
oped wi th maximum speed. But
we're told they probably cannot be
ex pected to provide more than 10%
The
PLAIN TRUTH August 1976
to 20% of the nation's energy de–
mand by th e year 2000. The exo tic
energy sources rema in future possi–
bilities, not present realiti es.
What options, then. do we have?
We could continue to pay the sky–
rocketing cos ts of imponed fuel s
and be constantly at the merey of
the OPEC countries. But domes–
t ica lly there a re only two sources of
energy tha t a re avail able to replacc
oil and natural gas: coa! and nu–
clear power.
A crash program to dras tically in–
crease minin g of coal could provide
a pa rt ía! solution to our energy
needs. Yet to expect coa! to provide
vinually a l! o f our energy require–
ments in the next 50 to 100 yea rs
may be totally unrea li stic.
The Nuclear Option
But what about nucl ea r power? On
the positive side, proponents point
out tha t the nuclear power industry
is already here; the technology is
known. In fact the AEC repon
to
W•de World
450, 000 KILOWATT
San Onofre
Nuclear Power Generating Plant
(above left)
is
located just south of
San Clemente, California.
lf
we choose
the nuclear power option, radioactive
wastes must be safely stored fo r thou–
sands ot years (center). At right,
Lawrence Livermore Laboratory
scientists work on an alternative and
virtual/y inexhausti ble energy source:
nuclear fusion.
the President in 1962 predicted that
7% of U.S. electricity would come
from nucl ear power by the year
1980. As it turns out, it is already
nearly 9%.
One pound of uranium fue! as it
goes in to a nuclea r reactor wit h
present technology will supply as
much heat as 50,000 pounds of coa !
going into a coa l-burning plant.
The average total generating cost
of electricity from nuclear power is
reported to be 1.05 cents per kilo–
watt hour. which is 40% less than
the fossi l fue! cos t of 1.73 cents .
23