82 The Barrier of Cost 



more than a hundred years and one that still makes newspaper head- 

 lines when someone takes a new flier in that direction. There is noth- 

 ing wrong with the technology, but something quite askew with the 

 economics. 



Petroleum? Seven times as much in proved reserves in the United 

 States as there used to be. Maybe that is why American petroleum 

 companies are investing hundreds of millions of dollars in oil proper- 

 ties in remote corners of the earth. Or is it possible that some eco- 

 nomics got into the picture? 



In any event, all that these optimistic statements add up to is that 

 whereas the conferees in 1908 thought the cupboard would be bare 

 the day before yesterday, actually there is enough to last until the day 

 after tomorrow. Every long-range fuel supply survey made in recent 

 years, and there have been several, relegates gas and oil to the drop- 

 in-the-bucket category. Now one of the pegs on which our present 

 standard of living hangs is an abundant supply of liquid fuel at a cost 

 in capital invested and manpower hours not far different than pre- 

 vails at present. Any shift to a higher-cost liquid fuel inevitably affects 

 our standard of living. Fossil fuels such as oil and gas are not, of 

 course, our only sources of energy, and our present civilization de- 

 pends even more on an abundant and cheap supply of energy than 

 on a cheap and abundant supply of liquid fuel. Amongst the problems 

 not yet solved from the viewpoint of economy are the utilization of 

 sunlight, ocean tides, and other sources even more difficult to tap. 

 The only really promising breakthrough in recent years lies in the 

 possibility of using nuclear energy. Dr. Nolan has mentioned the 

 splendid job of the geologists in applying new techniques in the loca- 

 tion of uranium deposits. But we are as yet a long way from having 

 cheap nuclear energy in usable form. 



Unfortunately, it is economics which dictates many of the wasteful 

 practices in the utilization of natural resources. The economics here 

 is of two sorts, one of which I call the "little economics" which relates 

 to the day-by-day operations of private companies which must make a 

 profit or quit the game. The other sort, which I call the "big eco- 

 nomics," relates to the long-range welfare of all our people. Occasion- 

 ally government should intervene for the sake of the big economics, 

 and less frequently it does intervene, but for the most part it is the 



