THE NORTHERN ADVOCATE Registered for transmission through the Post as a Newspaper. SATURDAY June 14, 1947. Shortages Of Fuel And Power

Northern Advocate, 14 June 1947, Page 4

THE NORTHERN ADVOCATE Registered for transmission through the Post as a Newspaper. SATURDAY June 14, 1947. Shortages Of Fuel And Power

The power cuts to which the people of New Zealand are being subjected at the present time emphasise that the economy of any modernisation is vitally dependent upon fuel and power. An announcement that cuts will be reduced by five per cent, as from Monday will be warmly welcomed, but there remains the fact that power is in short supply the world over and requires the observance of economy, even under the best circumstances.

Advances in technological processes promise wonderful advantages and improvements in living standards, but progress can be halted if the energy supplied either by ,coal or hydro-electricty fails to keep pace with requirements. For centuries the world has been exploiting its coal resources; within the last half-century water power has been harnessed; and on the horizon the peaceful utilisation of atomic energy is looming.

In the development of its industrial age, the world has been prodigal in the use of its natural resources, and although it is declared that there are ample reserves for the use of many generations, the fact remains that heed should be paid to the need for economic exploitation of those reserves.

It was with-the purpose of lessening demand on coal and oil resources that men turned to the harnessing of water power, which has been appropriately termed “white coal.”

Remarkably successful results have followed the harnessing of water for the generation of electrical power, and countries possessing great sources of water supply have been placed in a most advantageous industrial position.

A noted Swedish scientific author, in a long-range glimpse of the future written about 15 years ago, visualised an end to our modern civilisation by the turn of this century through a complete exhaustion of oil resources. Already it is clear that he was unnecessarily pessimistic, because oil is now produced from coal, or even growing vegetation, and it is confidently believed that power and lubricating oil will be available for many centuries.

It may bo, of course, that atomic energy will go far to lessen reliance upon oil and coal as the foundations of power and heat. Inded, there is little room for doubt that Britain is already well on the way to commence the establishment of an atomic power plant, while steps in the same direction are being made in other lands of the Commonwealth, Australia being a case in point.

The power question is of vital importance to Britain, which, almost more than any other nation, is dependent upon adequate power resources for her industries.

In the past her financial strength was founded largely upon her capacity to import raw materials from other countries, including the Dominions, turn them into commodities of unsurpassed excellence and distribute them throughout the world.

Under modern conditions, manufacturing depends on fuel and power, and until Britain’s available coal and electricity supplies arcadequate her output will be limited. Unfortunately, Britain, unlike New Zealand, has limited sources of potential hydro-electric power, and must depend mainly on her coal mines for power for her industries.

That Britain is determined not to neglect any means which will help her to re-establish herself as a great manufacturing and exporting nation may be gathered from her pioneering efforts in the realm of atomic energy.

However, the shortages of power and fuel suffered by many countries during and since the war renderessential the careful use of fuel of all kinds. This is a matter to which New Zealanders must give consideration, for. as in other countries, we have been wasteful of our natural assets — timber forests provide a case in point—and as a result the Dominion is poorer today than it need have been.

It is gratifying to know that there are big sources of hydro-electric power still to be tapped in the Dominion but even if maximum harnessing is effected, waste of electricity would be folly, sources of supply having their limits.