urces. Unfortunately, alternative fuel research has been starved in the United States for the past 10 years, and there is no existing program focusing on the devel opment of any single or any combination of alternative energy sources (Lee, 1990, pp. 12 15, 33 35). In this context, the proposed research study will address the following question: Which of the several alternative energy sources to fossil fuels, either singly or in combination, should provide the focus for a federal alternative energy research and development program in the United States in the early 1990?
There are several potential viable alternative energy sources to fossil fuels. These potential alternatives include (1) biomass energy (Society for the Advancement of Education, 1990, p. 6), (2) geothermal energy (Dreyfus and Ashby, 1990, pp. 16 20, 22, 24), (3) hydroelectric power (Boyle, 1990, pp. 50 56, 58, 60), (4) nuclear power (Miller and Mintzer, 1990, pp. 30 32, 34), (5) solar energy (American Academy for the Advancement of Science, 1990, pp. 1403 1404), and (6) wind power (Scientific American, 1990, pp. 54 60, 62, 68 69).
Unfortunately, each of the potential alternative energy sources has both serious drawbacks, as well as significant advantages. Neither the choice between these alternative energy sources nor the selection of a package of these alter native will be an easy task. The purpose of the proposed research is to develop information which will facilitate either the making of achoice between the several alternative energy sour ces, and the selection of a package of these alternative energy sources.
It is not anticipated that terms and symbols unfamiliar to the general reader will be used in the report of the findings of the proposed research. Should the use of any such terms and symbols prove to be desirable as the project progresses, the appropriate terms and symbols will be defined at the point of their first use in the report of the rese...