Symposium on Energy for the Future—Problems and Prospects

Abstract

An increasing frequency of power brown-outs and the growing public awareness of the need to protect the environment have created an atmosphere of crisis concerning our ability to meet the growing energy needs of society. Energy demand has been doubling every 10 years. Coal alone could meet world requirements for perhaps one or two centuries; oil and gas for somewhat less than a century. There is no promising technology in sight for harnessing solar energy on a broad scale. World hydropower is now comparable to energy derived from fossil fuel, but is available primarily in Africa, South America, and Southeast Asia. Furthermore, its lifetime may be severely limited by the silting of reservoirs. Geothermal and tidal power can be tapped in only a few special situations. The thermocline of tropical waters offers a large power potential in the Caribbean, but again the resource is geographically limited. We are thus left with nuclear energy as the primary hope for the long-range future, but only if breeder reactors or controlled thermonuclear fusion reactors are perfected. In this short symposium we are therefore giving emphasis to aspects of the development of nuclear power, recognizing full well that in the years immediately ahead we need to draw on all our available resources: coal, oil, gas, hydro, and nuclear to meet our urgent needs. We must develop means of using these resources more efficiently and with proper regard for the environment.The future catastrophe that faces billions of members of the human race, if we do not develop adequate energy supplies, overshadows our present concerns about possible risks associated with nuclear power; but we must be unrelenting in our efforts to drive the levels of contamination down to the minimum that science and technology can achieve and to reduce the risk of failure to contain a power-plant accident to near-infinitesimal. In the present atmosphere of emotional rejection of nuclear technology by many of our citizens, there is great need for improving public understanding of the balance of risks and benefits, and of the importance of vigorous research and development programs to provide us with acceptable options. 1919