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Rr::~, . :~D i lO':lO~74 (ice=box WRW-on Travel-Ilt~r'" . .-' From: Helene C. Monberg Western Resources Wrap-up Gel 11 1974 l23-Sixth street Southeast series x, No. 41 ER washington, D.C., 20003 enerqy priorities--lead story COH;~~M~~BOAADArea Code 202-546-1350-1 Washington--The nation should switch to an electric economy based on nuclear energy and coal as soon as possible, as we are running out of oil and gas at present and projected rates of use, according to Philip N. Ross of Westinghouse. Ross is Westinghouse Electric COrporation's top power systems plan- ner. At a time when we are being told to use less electricity as a con- servation measure, Ross is advising, "The way to solve our energy short- age will be to use more electricity-not less. n Ross says there is a large body of data that points overwhelmingly to the conclusion that exhaustion of United States and world oil and gas resources is within sight. "In other words, at current growth rates,we are simply running out of oil and gas. Since these are the fuels on which we depend for nearly 80 percent of our energy needs, their poten- tial depletion. as well as their current shortage, defines the true na- ture of the enerqy crisis, n according to Ross. "If we are to deal effectively and realistically with the energy crisis, we must sharply reduce our excessive dependence on oil and gas by shifting to energy sources that are more plentiful--uranium and coal. For most purposes, these two fuels have to be converted to electricity, a requirement that applies to practically every other energy source,n ~e says It applies, for example, to geothermal and solar energy and to pow- er from winds or the Udes, he points out. Ross told a group of power managers in phoenix in April, DGeothermal steam in California won't heat my house in Pittsburgh. '!he wind or tide in Maine won't illuminate a farmhouse on the plains. The sun in Arizona isn't going to run a pro-~ ............................~..............,~..................~.~I.'n~~ We first spotted Philip N. ROSS'S views on the energy crisis in the May- JUne issue of Public Power, which contained the gist of a speech that Ross had made at an APPA meeting in Phoenix in April. On inquiry, West- inghouse sent more material to us, and this WR.W is a composite of that material. Ross's views are based on several assumptions, the most im- portant being that the world's supply of uranium will last until we mas- ~~~.~~.~~~P~~~?9Y.9t.~P~.?!~~~:.f~:~~9!:.~~.......................... 0185 ,. ., '1 I ,