POWER RESOURCES

Evening Star, Issue 18852, 29 January 1925, Page 1

POWER RESOURCES

IS TUB END IN SIGHT? Power is the life blood of civilisation. If by some natural cataclysm all tho coal and oil and water power m the would were suddenly snatched away, the majority of people who live in civilised countr.es would have to die. The survivor.-, would revorr to savagery. There is suspicion (states the ’.Scientific American') that these superlatively necessary resources of outs in coal and, oil are. being waited; that their exhaustion is no more than around tiro coiner of tne next century; that our civilisation in threatened, in consequence, with an early and disastrous end. There is talk ot possible power from waves and winds, of (no stores of power which some physicists believe may lie obiamej from the, atoms of mutter. It i» the bn-mesa of science, men say, to devise new ways of getting power. But the first business of science abuu-. power is to take .stork of what resources we have. That was done during tho past summer at. the World Power Conicrenco in London. Hundreds of onginr-eus and experts from nil over the. world met to r.pmi ihe power resources o! their respective countries and lo confer about, the proolenis <*t utilisation ami conservation. The comoreuoo resulted, among other things, in Uic most complete and accuiatc survey of vvoiid powet resources over made, T’he more important data o! Ill's survey, together with oilier available i.ala, have been embodied in published maps. Perhaps llie fealnro of those map., most <-uipii»mg to the layman is the, tael, thru, the total coal rosonioe* ot the woild come out ,-o .urge and the water power resources so small. Mo have been taught --by the newspapeis, it m't bv the processors— to think o; thin tho other wav totind, I oal, it has. been said, is nearly gone. Wo must turn ’.he “white i-oal ” of our rivers and waterfalls. It will be our salvation. Hut what are the lacts? The total mi! of ihe world, as teported lo k-e Vor, i Power (.inference, aggregates the tsetnendons lota! of 7,397.555,000,.D0 tons. At the proscut rale of use of coal tins is cons ign for some 4.000 years. Oi course, ihe talc of ure is increasing, and it is true, alv, that so mo 40 per cent, ot tho total coal reserve is of lower than b;Unmno\K giauc. But thee-' considerations are oik-ct by tire fact that I lie agure given bifhr.K-* only known reserves o; coal, when as ad k* ioc sis agree that many coal beds are oil. ui.di-envcred, • op. daily in the email ire. hire (Ti na, and Africa, that have been re re cmipretrdv expiated. Turin lie to water newer, H;o l.oal |o'.':itil v.alc p"< 1 i tm " cdi w.i 1 ' c - .’•.'•.bin.' M Iho nano, equals -nlv son o k.ij (id i' I in. , iu i r , on m ln .. o which :.r now creviv.pcu and more o. Ires m use. It is diihc.ll.t Lo make all,. are m,ire i sfjma'c .a me piwnt im oi p-o'reo in tic; world, but rough to.,.reh it.dealt mat re. til , p ore ian i i ’ tie vu l 1 vre n- l piled iron’, w.i.er povre.-i tn.-Uad l..r ; reo. !ivnn eoa! and -..i, nu.v, ... v.oa.d (a- h IIV t I ll > ‘ ' ' I I ' Vl’ ' ]l I r ' ‘’ere ’ 1 HO,in OI at OO Kfi.a.k o !..ose-t.-ovv. r. ai u n , s t.u L ■ 3 11 l, cJ 1 power. This means ihal w.itci prere can n supply the power hocus ot the: void, liven, lor our present um> of ire"--.' i.-.ud hta... v,■. would n-ed ireai.v as much vv.itcr pov.e. .vs is available, the icmm .saivc-re ...(.'.ale, ,u the entire wor.d. Some countiio- a;0 ;t! a more I . .re :re.e pusil'.oii. T lea Un.tCM & I.lies cud ( ii.aua load all ihe world :n (he water power resources that H.ev pos-css. This is mie. course, to the cxKtenco of great moumam ranees, providing tho nccoo-aiv ian tor streams, and to an amine rainfall, vihlk’i provides these streams.