Energy and environment: the ecological debate

The development of man's use of energy, from earliest times to the present, is briefly sketched. The present energy problem is discussed under three headings: availability of energy (standard of living of developed and developing countries; rate of depletion of non-renewable energy sources with special reference to oil); price (effect on practical availability); environmental pollution (hazards to workers and public; 'greenhouse effect' due to carbon dioxide; radioactivity in the environment due to the operations associated with the use of nuclear power; comparison of hazards associated with oil, coal and nuclear power); response to the energy problem (economy of use of existing energy sources; development of renewable sources; nuclear fusion); what future for industrial society; what is a post-industrial society (sociological and ethical aspects). (U.K.)