GUEST EDITORIAL
Dedication before Catastrophe The United States is a country with tremendous resources, both natural and human. Because it is a great democracy, however, it is not immune to a problem very common to democracy. In particular, the people of a democracy being truly free do not choose to attack major problems that relate to the group as a whole except in the face of catastrophe. Each free individual in a society like ours tends to act on a free and individual basis. Faced with catastrophe, the individual in democracy tends to move with strength in the direction of a solution of the problem. To the year 1975, the United States of America has been fortunate in that each catastrophe has been solved ultimately with the country moving ahead stronger than ever. That catastrophic good luck applied to the Civil War, World War I, our Great Depression, World War 11, South Korea, and now Vietnam. As we look ahead to our future what is it that will help us maintain our democracy with purpose and quality? Historically, have we been able as individuals to help the country rise and shine in its responsibilities? I don’t think so. Catastrophe welds us together as a unit, and in the absence of that catastrophe we act individually and for our own motives. Probably never before in the history of the United States than now have we needed to act before the catastrophe hits. There is no question about our currently approaching catastrophe. We are short of energy for our demands. We must import on the order of 7.5 million barrels of oil per day to meet our demand of 18 million barrels per day. Our country is growing in numbers and in sophistication, both of which add significantly to the tremendous demand upon natural resources. To this point in time the United States has depended heavily upon petroleum and natural gas as sources of calories for energy use. We now are not in a position to obtain sufficient quantities of either natural gas or petroleum to meet our needs. We certainly have the complication of the Middle East and its pricing policies. Perhaps, however, the catastrophe put upon us by the Middle East and the pricing policies that have resulted are the most significant and stimulating acts we have had pressed upon us over the past two centuries. We are reasonably alert to our needs, but we are not acutely alert. With the United States having 27% of the known solid-fuel reserve in the world, our path is clear. We must move rapidly in the dedication of our money and time to the exploitation of our coal deposits. Not only do we have the need for the energy itself, but we have an awesome need for hitching our wagon to a star at this time to improve our country’s attitudes and to remind us of the tremendous strength we have in a democracy. What is the value of this solid-fuel resource in our lives? If we were to have an all-out program to develop the applied chemistry of coal for use as a fuel and for use as a source of synthetic chemicals, we would make tremendous progress in maintaining the independence of our country. In addition we would have the opportunity to add a significant number of jobs to our payroll. What is holding us back in the exploitation of our coal deposits? Without question the chemistry of carbon monoxide and hydrogen which are developed from coal is the basic chemical foundation for all of our organic chemistry based upon hydrocarbon sources. We have much knowledge about the chemistry of carbon monoxide and hydrogen, but we have not moved quickly in the exploitation of the knowledge. There was a time when petroleum cost $2.50 or so a barrel. With petroleum priced at more than $8.00 a barrel, we have the stimulus to exploit our coal resources. There must be dedication by the President, the Congress, and the people of the United States. There must be leadership from the professional societies such as the American Chemical Society and the American Institute of Chemical Engineers. Time is short, and both of these societies should move rapidly in the direction of educating the public and the government as to what must be done. We need to eliminate actions based upon catastrophe; we need to hitch our wagon to a star; and what is better at this time than the development of coal? California I n s t i t u t e of Technology Pasadena, California July 1975
WILLIAM H. CORCORAN
Dr. William H. Corcoran. a member of the Advisory Board of this journal. is Professor of Chemical Engineering and Vice President for Institute Relations at California Institute of Technology.
Ind. Eng. Chem., Fundam., Vol. 14, No. 3, 1975
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