Clean energy can emerge from deep beneath the earth’s
surface, but will it interfere with the natural beauty of the
volcanoes, hot springs and geysers that make it possible? That’s a
question asked in Tapping the Earth’s Natural Heat, a 63-page
report produced by Wendell Duffield for the U.S. Geological Survey.
Compared to other sources of energy, Duffield says, geothermal
powerplants are clean and reliable, remaining on line about 95
percent of the time. They also scar the landscape only minimally,
and unlike other natural resources, can be used even if available
only in small quantities. The nagging question, though, is whether
the impacts of tapping the earth, impacts which range from hydrogen
sulfide emissions to changes in distant geothermal features, are
tolerable. To obtain the free full-color booklet, now in its third
printing, write USGS Map Distribution, Box 25286, MS 306, Denver
Federal Center, Denver, CO 80225.
*Taffeta
Elliott
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Hot and beautiful.
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