Energy problems and potential solutions

The background and current status of the energy situation, energy supplies relative to demand, and potential solutions to the problems faced by the USA and by individuals in the USA are discussed. The USA followed an energy scenario demanding more and more oil and natural gas resulting in its reserves of oil and natural gas becoming scarce. The past and future trends in energy use show a greater growth rate for oil and gas relative to other resources, and reserves of these resources are not being found as rapidly as they are being removed from the ground, resulting in greater independence on imported Eastern oil. This has resulted in a trade imbalance. Electricity is a major growth area, its generation now dependent on coal and nuclear fuels when formerly dependence had been on oil and gas. These factors are resulting in some current shortages of energy, especially electrical power and natural gas; increasing energy costs; a growing dependence on foreign supplies of fuel; and increased consideration of the social and environmental aspects of energy production, as well as technical and economic ones. In the short and intermediate term, logical solutions based on the energy scenario are to reduce energy demand through conservation; to move away from using scarce resources such as oil and gas which now provide approximately 78% of U.S. energy; to move toward the use of moreabundant resources such as coal and uranium; and to develop domestic supplies of oil and gas. In the longer term, renewable sources such as solar, fusion, and geothermal need be developed. Currently, hydropower, natural gas, oil, nuclear, uranium, geothermal, solar, and fusion are expected to fill in as sources of energy to meet the needs after conservation. (MCW)