Exclusive paths and difficult choices

The authors argue basically for a process by which one may objectively analyze the desirability of future energy goals. A table is presented that projects the U.S. primary energy supply in the year 2000. The authors note that according to the table, oil and gas demand are still dangerously close to today's level. Nuclear and coal production rise sharply, but are limited by practical constraints to the rate of expansion, and new energy sources (geothermal, wind, solar, and biomass) provide only about 5 to 6% of demand in the year 2000. An analysis is given of Amory Lovins's hard and soft path energy projections for the years 2000-2025 for coal, oil and gas, and nuclear energies