POLíTICA NUCLEAR
ever since -man will keep on paying untíl the end of his existence.
With the inventiveness of his mind, man mined the earth and
found coal and oil and natural gas. He produced ekctricity, and
the degree of his "civiliz:l,tion" carne to be measured by the amount
of energy he can produce and use. Slowly, progress helped man
realize that he needed energy, not only for the ncücssities
DÍ
life, but
also fo,r comforts, sllch as bigger and bigger cars, air conditioners,
even electric toothbrushes.
Supply seemed inexhaustíble, but unfortunat:::ly is noto ''''oad,
coal, oi! and natural gas reserves are slowly decreasing and their
prices keep increasing. Even though existing sources ,are being de–
pleted and prices get higher, man does not seem to be able to con–
trol his appetite for more and more energy. Sorne co-untrits have
. contributed to this dífficult situation more than others. For instan–
ce, the U. S.
A.
has 6% of the world's population, yet
it
consumes
ahnost 35'% of the world's commercial energy. Of course, Ú'tha
industrial countries contribute their share to this abuse, and the
less developed countries that justifiably want to develop, will soon
have their chance to use their share of energy.
Inshort, more energy is needed now, and more and more of it
will
be needed in the future.
ALTERl'<lATE ENERGY SOURCES
In addition to the conventional energy sources man has used to da–
te, such as wood, coal, oil, gas and water, other sources such as sun–
light, wind, tide, and biogas not only are renewable but also would
be available, if only they can be developed. And, of course, there
Ís nuclear energy.
Biogas is a source that can be developed, as long as there is a
supply of people and animals, and the desire and money to de·
velop it. In fact, China, with its human masses, is reported to have
built 4.3 million biogas plants in the last three years.
Fo,rtunately fol' most of the developing countries, sunshine is a
luxury they enjoy most of the year. And the more the sunshine,
the better the chances for solar energy.
As
a matter of {act, the
more underdeveloped the country and tbe fewer buildings and in–
dustrial plants it has, the better its chances for the development and
