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February 1971
energy source. By 1950, the earth had
yielded 80
BJLLION
tons of coal. Petro–
leum carne into use later than coal. Even
so, by 1950 over 70
BJLLJON
barreis of
oil had been piped from the earth.
These energy sources, combined with
natural gas, provide over 95% of the
total energy expenditure ( including
automobile gasoline) in the United
States. Nuclear and hydro-power make
up the remainder.
But continually increasing energy
demands are putting great stress on pro·
duction. The problem has not been
clearly understood by the public.
"In the .first place," said Mr. Harry
Perry, Senior Specialist, Environmental
Policy Division, Library of Congress,
"two out of three of our fossil fuels are
in short supply ... secondly, the fossil
fuels are, as is nuclear ( energy] in
other directions, a detriment to the
environment."
Coa!, oil and natural gas - which
are responsible for about 80% of the
electricity produced by our electric
power plants - must be drilled or
mined, processed and transported to a
power plant before electrical energy can
be generated. The gigantic task of pro–
ducing and transporting enough coal
for just one electric power plant is stag–
gering. A plant Jocated in the Mojave
Desert in the Western United States
gulps sorne 200 railway carloads of
coa! in just
one day>s time.
And there are literally hundreds of
power plants over the United States and
Canada requiring such huge coal ton–
nages. As more and more coa! is used
up, companies must turn to deeper
deposits, veins with less thickness, or
deposits hundreds of miles from the
generating plants.
We asked Mr. Brice O'Brien, Vice
President of the National Coal Associ–
ation, how energy problems rank today
in our Jist of national priorities. "We
have used the cream of the crop, we're
running out of that. From now on
w~re
A.mbom~dot
Col/oge
Pholo
Over 200 separate electrical
gadgets are already available
for use by Americans. Meanwhile
every conceivable kind of elec–
trical appliance is being aggres·
sively merchandised, including
all-electric homes.