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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 20, 1978)
THE BATTALION MONDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 1978 Page 7 Views conflict during SC ON A ‘Sun may supply all energy By MARILYN BROWN The sun, so sorely missed the last few weeks, may one day supply all the world's electricity, says Harlan Smith, University of Texas professor of Astronomy. Dr. Smith was part of a three- member panel which spoke on fu ture energy technology during a Friday morning meeting at the Stu dent Conference on National Af fairs. The other speakers were E. Linn Draper, University of Texas profes sor of Nuclear Engineering, and Dr. Stephen Riter, head of Texas Engi neering Experiment Station Center for Energy and Mineral Resources. Riter spoke first on what he termed “mundane solutions to the energy problem. These include biomass conversion — deriving energy from organic matter — and the use of alcohol, coal, and solar energy. Riter contended that the sun is tlie ultimate source of all energy and that oil and gas represent that energy trapped in plants and tapped amillenia later. Because the world’s population can’t wait another mil- lenia, Riter suggests direct fuel production from crop, animal and municipal wastes. Riter said the greatest misconcep tion about the energy crisis is that “we think we have to make large- scale, irrevocable decisions between nuclear or solar power. Riter said small-scale power production would lessen the need to build large power plants or to con vert exisiting ones. This would in volve individual solar or coal units in the home and farms which supply their own energy with methane gas made from manure and alcohol made from crop wastes. He said many small projects across the state researching these energy sources. Panelists agreed the federal gov ernment would be a major influence on the types of energy developed because it regulates the energy in dustry so extensively. Riter said he thinks large-scale energy production encourages fur ther government regulation and re striction and enables a few large corporations to dominate the indus try. He said nuclear energy now ac counts for half the Carter adminis tration’s energy research funds. “It’s a question of whether the government will put its eggs in one basket or provide the incentive for a variety of energy sources, Riter said. Draper, a nuclear energy propo nent, said he thinks nuclear energy and coal “will bear the lion’s share of the U.S. energy needs of the next 25 years. “Unless the government allows the construction of more (nuclear) plants we face a critical energy shortage,” Draper said. He said there are 68 nuclear plants in the U.S. which provide 10 percent of the country’s electric power. They provide as much as 70 percent for the Chicago area when coal is in short supply, Draper said He said nuclear energy is the least sensitive to fuel cost increases because the amount of fuc 1 ’ -ired is so small. It now costs t r kilowatt hour, 20 percent <Tu oer than coal at $.18 per kilowatt I ur, and half the price of natural gas at $.35 per kilowatt hour. Draper said he thinks nuclear energy has caught on slowly because “politicians have misconceived the public sentiment. He said national polls have found 60 percent of the public “at the grass roots level in support of nuclear energy. He also said extensive government regula tion impedes private investments in nuclear plants. Draper said nuclear plants were “among the safest devices devised by man,” calling them safer than any other type of power plants. As a guard for potential nuclear blast, government strictly regulates their construction and it takes about 13 years to build a nuclear plant that meets government safety standards. He said waste disposal and radia tion leaks are not a problem because wastes are sealed in glass and buried 3,000 feet beneath the earth’s sur face. After 700 years they are no more toxic than any known radiation Embrey’s Jewelry We Specialize In Aggie Rings. Diamonds Set — Sizing — Reoxidizing — All types watch/jewelry Repair Aggie Charge Accounts 9-5:30 846-5816 We Pick Up & Deliver BUD WARD VOLKSWAGEN INC. 693-3311 EXOTICA ORCHIDS Beautiful plants that will easily grow and bloom in your home. By appointment - Blanche Guthrie 846-8941 CHARISSA PACK joins "THE PRECISION HAIRCUTTERS" JUIEAIC CILAjfcf 209 E. University 846-4771 (In the George Green Bldg.) Friday’s SCONA Energy Technology Panel presented three views on future energy sources. Left to right are Dr. Stephen Riter, who proposed simplistic solutions to the Battalion photo by Susan Webb energy crisis; Dr. Harlan Smith, who looks to the sun to supply the world’s energy needs, and Dr. Linn Draper, who is a nuclear energy proponent. damage due to leaks from nuclear plants. However, such damage would cause irreparable damage to a large body of land. Draper said that no nuclear plants in this country have been used to build atomic weapons. Harlan Smith called the sun a “super nuclear fusion plant, and said he believes that solar space sta tions are the only run, large-scale solutions to the energy crisis. Solar space stations would reflect the suns’s rays and send energy in the form of microwaves to collection points on earth. Smith said he thinks they will provide substantial amounts of our energy within 40 to 50 years. Smith said every square inch of the sun has 10,000 times the amount of energy used in the world — virtually an infinite supply. The sun always shines in space, and the sta tions could use the sun’s energy without atmospheric interference. The stations would be con structed in space by workers living in orbit around the earth. Smith said by 1980 the space shuttle would be making weekly runs to “park supplies in orbit unless the adminis tration loses its nerv e. The stations can be constructed of lightweight materials because of the weightless ness of space. Smith said the solar collectors on earth would not block sunlight and the land beneath them could be used for farming. “All this may sound like science fiction, but we re not so far from it,” Smith said. “We have the technol ogy, we just need to develop it to reduce costs. The initial cost is estimated be tween $40 to $100 billion. But Smith said he thinks by the year 2000 profits will outweigh costs. One thousand space stations woidd cover the world s needs, and between 50 to 100, depending on the size, would be needed for the U.S. Smith said the solar space stations woidd add a “human constellation o the night sky. He said he thinks they will be the driving force toward making use of space — the “next frontier". “We 11 find that space isn’t the last frontier, but out birthright and a necessity to man’s future. T in concerned with getting the human rffce through the hext 20 to 25 years,” Smith said. “After that our supplies and our room to grow are infinite." ^Sptstopal J^tuhent Center 902 Jersey (adjacent to southside of campus) 846-1726 Tuesdays, 5:30 p.m.: Eucharist & Supper Wednesdays 12 noon Bible Study Fridays, 6:30 a.m.: Eucharist & Breakfast Sundays, 6:30 p.m.: Fellowship & Eucharist Fr. James Moore, Chaplain TIP TQP RECORDS 1000 S. 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