The world is getting warmer. Among scientists concerned with global
climate change this is the broad consensus. How fast and by how much,
are questions which cannot be answered quantitatively, but the
probability of rising temperatures must be faced in a prudent manner -
there is enough certainty of change so that we must anticipate and
prepare before irreparable damage is done to our world. Even if it isn't
going to be as bad as some people think, the actions we propose will
benefit the earth and give us a kind of insurance. The root of the
change is population growth, and its attendant demand for energy. While
the developed world expects to hold future emissions relatively steady,
the developing countries, where population growth is most rampant, will
expand the use of energy as they aspire to a better quality of life. H
greater energy use is inevitable it behooves us to produce that energy
in the least objectionable manner, and to produce it where the cost is
lowest in dollars, GNP, and environmental change.