The author mentions the possibility of energy conservation in order to ....

Question

Question 71-73 are based on the following passage.

At the present time, 98% of the world energy consumption comes from stored sources, such as fossil fuels or nuclear fuel. Only hydroelectric and wood energy represent completely renewable sources on ordinary time scales. Discovery of large additional fossil fuel reserves, solution of the nuclear safety and waste disposal problems, or the development of controlled thermonuclear fusion will provide only a short-term solution to the world's energy crisis. Within about 100 years, the thermal pollution resulting from our increased energy consumption will make solar energy a necessity at any cost.

Man's energy consumption is currently about one part in ten thousand that of the energy we receive from the sun. However, it is growing at a 5% rate, of which about 2% represents a population growth and 3% a per capita energy increase. If this growth continues, within 100 years our energy consumption will be about 1 percent of the absorbed solar energy, enough to increase the average temperature of the earth by about one degree centigrade if stored energy continues to be our predominant source. This will be the point at which there will be significant effects in our climate, including the melting of the polar ice caps, a phenomenon that will raise the level of the oceans and flood parts of our major cities. There is positive feedback associated with this process, since the polar ice cap contributes to the partial reflectivity of the energy arriving from the sun: As the ice caps begin to melt, the reflectivity will decrease, thus heating the earth still further.

It is often stated that the growth rate will decline or that energy conservation measures will preclude any long-range problem. Instead, this only postpones the problem by a few years. Conservation by a factor of 2, together with a maintenance of the 5% growth rate, delays the problem by only 14 years. Reduction of the growth rate to 4% postpones the problem by only 25 years; in addition, the inequities in standards of living throughout the world will provide pressure toward a n increase in growth rate, particularly if cheap energy is available. The problem of a changing climate will not be evident until perhaps 10 years before it becomes critical due to the nature of an exponential growth rate together with the normal annual weather variations. This may be too short a period to circumvent the problem by converting to other energy sources, so advance planning is a necessity.

The only practical means of avoiding the problem of thermal pollution appears to be the use of solar energy. (Schemes to "air-condition" the earth do not appear to be feasible before the twenty-second century.) Using the solar energy before it is dissipated to heat does not increase the earth's energy balance. The cost of solar energy is extremely favorable now, particularly when compared to the cost of relocating many of our major cities.