Critical review of energy options

Short term measure for dealing with energy crisis is reducing consumption by: 1 improving the efficiency of all energy consuming machines 2 eliminating the wasteful use of energy. Renewable sources of energy such as solar, wind, tidal, waves, etc., do make a significant contribution to demand for energy but they are unlikely to meet the ever increasing consumption. Long term measures may require exploitation of hydrogen to replace fossil fuels or to opt for nuclear energy. Since 3/4 of the earth is covered with water, we have inexhaustible source of hydrogen to meet our energy needs. The purpose of this paper is to promote public awareness of the methods of large scale generation of electricity and to examine critically the pros and cons of both short term and long term measures.