the atom, and created methods of electronic communication to extend our senses. We have learned to recombine the strands of life, and we are more conscious of the uniqueness of planet Earth. The illusion that we have unlimited capabilities to control nature and fashion our environment based on these scientific and technological marvels has instilled in us a naive belief in the unlimited bounty of nature. Thus, we have treated natural resources as our rightful inheritance, and have proceeded to mine, burn, and exploit them to meet our immediate needs with scant regard for the fact that they are irreplaceable assets. We have taken the present for granted to an extent far greater than we realized and have often failed to see the future except as a continuation of the present. Perhaps we care less about a distant future because we are not sure that we will be there to enjoy it. We have let our imagination be bound by commonly accepted perceptions despite all evidence pointing to an ever-increasing acceleration of change. At present, our world is beset by trials and tribulations. It is as if we had eaten of the forbidden fruit and been kicked out of the Garden of Eden. Our economy, whose dynamic growth was built on a century-long exploitation of cheap and abundant energy supplies, now has to depend on foreign sources of crude oil. This dependence over the past years has changed the balance of power in the world and through mounting deficits in our balance of trade has undermined the strength of our economy and the dollar, leading to a slowdown of world-wide economic growth. Today, we are doubtful about our national purpose and are confronted with problems that have no immediate solutions. Political consensus, historically based on expectations of rising economic growth, has begun to disintegrate, and we have not exhibited the will to cope with the shortfall of energy supplies available to us over the short term. The energy problem has created anxiety in the industrialized countries, and there is increasing doubt that there are technical fixes available which, like a deus ex machina, will lead soon to energy independence. Yet, we still hope for a painless solution, although there is a widespread distrust of technology as complex systems fail when least expected, seemingly defying effective human control with humiliating consequences, resulting in a yearning for the good old times when we seemed to be in better control of our destiny. For many of us, our living standard is higher than ever before, although this is not universally true even in this country, and certainly not in the rest of the world. We have become conscious of the effects on our environment of industrial activities needed to sustain this living standard, and are taking steps to control the undesirable impacts of these activities so that we do not mortgage future generations. We are beginning to accept the possibility of change in the patterns of consumption so that we can maintain the values our society cherishes. This change in our perception is no more apparent than in the growing recognition that energy is the key to the social development of our civilization and essential to improving the quality of life beyond the basic activities necessary for survival. The facts are that no one energy source will, by itself, meet all future energy demands, that the search for new sources of nonrenewable fuels can only put off the day of their ultimate exhaustion and that uncertainties in achieving the potential of known energy conversion methods are substantial. As part of the search for solutions to the energy problem, we are witnessing a renewed emphasis on the inexhaustible energy source represented by the Sun. For the first time, we are beginning to consider the challenges posed by the transition to the one source of energy on which all life depends.
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