I thought this may be of interest. Hopefully, the public will accept the fact that existing nuclear power plants will fill their energy needs.
-- John
-----Original Message-----
From: ArcaMax [mailto:ezines@arcamax.com]
Sent: April 07, 2000 1:14 AM
To: Jacobus, John (OD)
Subject: ArcaMax Science News for April 07, 2000
. . .
DON'T LOOK FOR ALTERNATIVE FUELS SOON A University of Maine economist and
an Oak Ridge National Laboratory scientist say that alternative fuels, such
as compressed natural gas, methanol, propane, and ethanol produced from
biomass will not be competitive, nor available to consumers, in the next
decade. Market costs, they say, will keep gasoline and diesel in the
driver's seat. "Proposals that the nation adopt alternative fuels often
don't consider the market costs involved in a transition to a new system,"
economist Jonathan Rubin says. "It's not enough to say that a technology
works, or would be economical if widely available. We also have to show
that it's economical during the transition phase." The model Rubin created
predicts that, for the 1996-2010 period, less than one percent of
transportation-related oil use will be replaced by alternatives, unless oil
price increases are sustained for a period of years, or the federal
government pursues policies more aggressive than those now in place.
. . .
--
Copyright 2000 by United Press International.
All rights reserved.
. . .
John Jacobus, MS
Health Physicist
National Institutes of Health
Radiation Safety Branch, Building 21
21 Wilson Drive, MSC 6780
Bethesda, MD 20892-6780
Phone: 301-496-5774 Fax: 301-496-3544
jjacobus@ors.od.nih.gov (W)
jenday1@email.msn.com (H)