mation will have to be made available on the economic, environmental and societal as well as technical issues. Typical reservations about the SPS, based on insufficient information, include the vulnerability of the SPS to sabotage, the impact of the microwave beam on the atmosphere, the effects of effluents from the SPS rocket launches and of the waste heat released to the atmosphere at the receiving antenna site. However, the U.S. Department of Energy assessment of the SPS concept and other studies indicated that no environmental constraints have been identified which would place undue constraints on the operation of the SPS. Land under receiving antennas at selected sites, even in desert regions, may be an important source of food if the design of the receiving antenna includes secondary uses, such as environmentally controlled agriculture. Offshore floating receiving antennas located near major population centers have the potential to produce fish protein through mariculture. Studies of the mariculture potential of receiving antenna structures indicate that one antenna site could supply 10% of the U.S. fish catch. The legal basis for the use of geosynchronous orbit also will require further definition. Already, some developing countries located near the equator have claimed sovereignty over geosynchronous orbit above their territory. The conflicts resulting from such claims could be reduced if an international agreement can be reached to assure that the SPS system would be operated and owned by an international organization operated for the benefit of humanity, perhaps modelled after the INTELSAT Corporation, which is owned by 105 countries. Third World countries view technology as a catalyst to help them achieve the aspirations of their peoples, and they look at the energy problem that they are facing in the context of social changes which will have a positive effect on their peoples' lifestyles. To achieve the desired effects, the appropriateness of either small scale decentralized (soft) solar technologies or large-scale centralized (hard) technologies should be considered. But there is a difference in the contributions of these technologies which clearly underlines the interrelationships between energy and social and economic factors. Unapplied technology is a neutral factor; but when a specific technology is applied, its contribution is closely related to social circumstances. Consequently, because the solutions of vexing energy problems vary for different countries, even for different regions of a single country and for urban and rural areas, proposed solutions may arouse great concern. Advocates of either "soft'' or “hard” technology solutions to energy problems tend to offer either one or the other as “the” solution, rather than choosing the technology most appropriate to solving a particular problem in a particular locale. Although it is likely that each country, whether developed or developing, will approach solutions to its energy problems in ways which will tend to optimize economic and societal objectives, a coherent global energy strategy based on a consensus of global development objectives and basic ground rules of humanity and equity should be considered. The time horizon for SPS implementation encompasses a period well beyond the turn of the century. The increasing role of the Third World on the international scene, the dynamic changes taking place in the scientific and technical fields and the hopes and aspirations of all people for a better life cannot be met without pursuing all worthwhile options for energy production. There is as yet no consensus in the scientific and technical community on the optimum solutions to complex energy supply problems. Thus it is not surprising that faced with the array of technology options, whether based on distributed or centralized technologies, there is a reluc-
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTU5NjU0Mg==