Abstract
The energy crisis has become a permanent fixture in our lives. It is apparent that the brief era, roughly 1920-1970, of rela- tively low and declining fuel costs is over for good. The world economic system must adjust to a new era of high-cost fuels, supply dislocations, and transition to new energy sources. Large uncertainties exist about the future availability, production costs, and market prices of the conventional fuels-oil, gas, and coal. Even greater uncertainties exist about the costs of the alternative energy sources-nuclear power and renewable resources, principally solar. As more information becomes available, nuclear power is constantly required to increase its safety level, becoming ever more expensive. The high-risk, very large, very long-term capital
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