Introduction

VENICE, 1980 - The leaders of the industrialised world sit at the great round table in the Benedictine Monastery Library on the Isola di San Giorgio Maggiore and contemplate the world energy scene of soaring oil prices. They approve a communiqué which calls for 'resolute action to increase the supply of energy sources other than oil', to 'break the existing link between economic growth and consumption of oil, 'to increase the role of nuclear power', 'to double coal production by 1990' and to reduce collective oil consumption by 1990 'significantly below present (1980) levels'. 'Unless we ...