Energy Problems of The Future Can We Solve Them?

Conclusions

In the coming decades, due to an expanding world population and an increase in world living standards, this planet faces an ever increasing need for energy. Meeting the increasing needs with fossil fuels, which today supplies 80% of world energy, may lead to fuel shortages, disastrous international hostilities over limited supplies, and to calamitous environmental effects due to increasing C02 emissions.

Perhaps immense new economic fossil fuel supplies will be unearthed; and perhaps it will be found that the projected warming of the earth from fossil fuel gas emissions does not take place. On the other hand, the problems may be much more intense than projected, and continuing on our present fossil fuel course will make the problems more difficult, if not impossible, to rectify in the future.

The one available means to significantly meet future world energy needs while avoiding the fossil fuel problems, is to expand the use of nuclear energy. The key problems which could impede this nuclear energy expansion are not technical. The problems are unnecessary institutional impediments present in some nations, and the need of a global plan to provide for the needed expansion.

Both of these problems can be resolved, and should be, on an expeditious basis. This could have mankind from unnecessary future calamities.