Perspective On World Energy Utilization

This chapter describes historical energy use and presents various perspectives on the future. At present, the extrapolations of historical patterns of energy use are giving way to sophisticated econometric models. The rising prices and other factors have already invalidated many carefully made projections. At present, instead of being susceptible to climate changes and depending only on the energy and food resources of the immediate vicinity, these necessities could be brought in from afar, creating a much broader resource base to support the community. The nuclear fuels worldwide are estimated to be potentially of the same order of magnitude as oil and gas if used on conventional light water reactors. Thus nuclear energy used in conventional reactors does not change the global picture greatly. Even the sophisticated models are unable to project the impact of wars, major supply interruptions, or economic recessions.