Assessing environmental risks of energy.

The increased attention given by analysts, decision makers, and the public in recent years to the environmental impacts of energy production has not been an aberration or a fad; it is the natural consequence of a growing recognition that an increase in human well-being, rather than an increase in energy supply for its own sake, should govern society's energy choices. Since well-being is influenced by environmental conditions as much as by economic conditions, the wisdom of a given energy choice simply cannot be determined without systematic assessment of its environmental consequences. Some brief observations about the nature and state-of-the-art of this assessment, as reflected in recent summaries and reviews, are offered.