Energy Crisis One key question for the next century is how we provide energy in an environ

Energy Crisis

One key question for the next century is how we provide energy in an environmentally sound way.

As living standards rise in the developing world, energy consumption will increase. As a result, many countries are now opening the door for private investment in a sector that used once to be solely the preserve of government.

In the developed world, the move is towards the deregulation and privatization of electricity generation and distribution. There is also a trend towards locally-generated energy, particularly in the developing world. Factories and shopping centers may one day have their own power sources.

Progress is also being made in minimizing the environmental impact of energy production and consumption. A motor car today puts out perhaps 5 percent of the pollution a new car did in 1970. We can produce clean power too but it costs, so in the new millennium(一千年) we're to some extent going to have the environment we can afford.

The spectre of scarce or impossibly expensive energy is no longer with us, thanks to a combination of opening up new regions of the world and new technologies. Shortage is very unlikely. Environmental considerations mean there is a seriousness too about alternative energy sources that wasn't there ten years ago.

Right now the fuel cell is at the top of the list of alternative technologies. Advances in turbine transportation mean that natural gas is going to have an ever-increasing role. Nuclear power may prove competitive enough to have a much longer life than many expect, but until there's a major change in public sentiment, I don't expect to see much new nuclear construction.

Will the grip of oil on personal transportation continue？ Sports utility vehicles like Land Rovers and jeeps are hardly the perfect means of urban transport. But people have become very attached to their automobiles. So until we get around to technology where we beam ourselves around, I suspect we'll continue to have them. Some may be electric; others could run on cleaner oil-based fuel or natural gas.

One area which is certainly not clear is the impact of the internet on transport. On the one hand, you will be able to accomplish by sitting in front of a screen what you used to have to go to the airport for, on the otherhand, increased knowledge may well fuel a rising demand for travel. We are only at the beginning of a revolution that is already being called a bigger revolution than the internal combustion engine(内燃机).

Which of the following is true about the use of energy？ ______

A．In the developing countries, there is a trend toward locally-generated energy.

B．In the developed world, clean power is used in motor cars.

C．A motorcar today puts out perhaps 5 times of the pollution a new car did in 1970.

D．Factories and shopping centers are able to have their own power sources.