The title of that newsletter was "The Energy Binge is Over." Well, the prediction of shortages was right, but the notion that the binge was over was not. The binge goes on today and it very well may take a shocking event like another Middle East war or another devastating winter to jar us again into conserving and cutting back.

Our energy problem is serious. We import nearly half of all the oil we use. The terribly cold winter of last year showed how our energy supplies could be strained beyond capacity.

But what is happening? Our energy appetite continues to increase. Gasoline consumption is at an all time high. Electricity usage is still going up. The crux of the problem seems to be a lack of public awareness of its real severity. In a recent poll less than half of those interviewed knew that the U.S. must import oil to meet its energy needs.

The truth is that since the oil embargo of 1973 our domestic oil production has dropped and our imports have risen sharply to nearly 50 percent of consumption. We are highly -- some say dangerously -- dependent on foreign oil.

To illustrate that fact, if the whole world burned oil at the rate we in the United States do, we would exhaust all the supplies discovered and speculated within 15 years. Clearly something has to be done, and soon.

As we in Congress have discovered, there is no single,

Sunshine has always been important to Arizona's economy. Our rich agriculture and tourist industries thrive on an almost always present sun. That natural blessing has even more significance now on the eve of the solar energy boom. Solar now provides less than one-thousandth of one percent of current U.S. energy requirements. Official predictions from the Energy Research and Development Administration show solar supplying seven percent of our national needs by the year 2000. But even that period of time may be too long given the enormity of the oil problem. It is true that we can never expect solar to meet all of our energy needs. Without elaborate, sophisticated equipment to concentrate and distribute the power of solar energy, it is too diffuse and its temperatures too low. But these very attributes make solar ideal for heating and cooling buildings and heating water. With sunshine readily available and the low temperature range adequate for home use, we can expect solar to furnish up to 70 percent of the nation's residential heating and cooling in the not-too-distant future. We ought to be able to do even better in Arizona, although we have just barely scratched the surface at this time.

The solar energy industry is now in its infancy with a long way to grow to reach its potential. For example, solar sales would have to increase by 50 percent for each of 10 years to reach a goal of supplying 10 percent of the nation's energy.

Recognizing the solar potential, the federal government has taken a number of steps to speed development of this

Specifically, DOE has outlined a number of programs for utilization of solar energy, including:
  

Sensing the potential of solar energy, the State of Arizona has been aggressive in establishing a healthy solar industry. Created two years ago, the Arizona Solar Energy Research Commission is the key to that effort. Among its functions are a small grants program to encourage private solar energy research and demonstration projects and an information program to acquaint citizens with the practical application of solar energy. The commission has established good contacts with federal agencies and has been instrumental in securing several solar energy grants for the state. The commission also is setting statewide standards of performance for solar devices, an important function that the U.S. Department of Energy is leaving to the states.

Another key element to this new industry is Arizona's

Solar research at our three state universities in Tucson, Tempe and Flagstaff continues to be a most important part of the research and development effort in the state. Facilities have been constructed at the three campuses where students and professors seek to improve methods for harnessing the sun's energy. Their efforts are crossing traditional departmental lines as physicists, chemists and astronomers join forces with architects and engineers in this multi-discipline quest.

In the private sector, Arizona's copper industry has been one of the leaders in exploring the use of solar energy. Recently, I had the opportunity to drive a non-polluting electric car developed by the copper industry. In Tucson, Decade 80's solar house built by the copper industry is a beautiful example of near-future technology artfully crafted into a truly stunning Arizona house. Because of its superior heat transfer properties, copper will play a major role in the efficient use of solar energy. In addition to enormous potential in the United States, the outlook for a substantial foreign market for solar equipment is very encouraging and should provide a real stimulus to Arizona's copper industry in the future.

One of the key elements to extensive solar energy usage is informing the public about existing programs and potential. We as a people are just now beginning to learn (or re-learn) how to use solar energy, its opportunities and limitations, the facts and fallacies. A few sources of information are given in the box in this newsletter. One of these deserves special mention -- the Department of Energy's National Solar Heating and Cooling information Center. Their toll-free telephone hotline (800/523-2929) provides information about all aspects of solar heating and cooling. You'll find the responses to be quick and informative. You might ask for the free booklet, "Solar Hot Water and Your Home."

As part of an effort to "spread the word," I am cosponsoring a seminar on solar cooling to be held in Tucson in December. Because solar air conditioning technically is more difficult than heating, progress has been slow. But I want to encourage good contacts between Arizona groups and the Department of Energy, and we want to be sure that Arizona builders are aware of the latest advances.

It is my own feeling that the nation's news media will be playing a most important role in educating the public about solar technology and the true scope of the energy crisis, and in gaining public acceptance of some of the costs of solar operations. The start-up costs will be high, but this fact should not discourage us from utilizing this energy source. The concept of life cycle costing must be widely accepted before a really significant number of people will pay the initially large cost of installation.

The media also can contribute by joining in the fight against possible fraud. Solar is a new industry and most consumers lack experience in planning or purchasing proper apparatus. It could be easy for modern-day snake oil salesmen to play upon public gullibility by delivering shoddy, substandard solar equipment at outrageous prices.

Although tapping sunlight for heat appears to be an easy process, successful operation is far from simple. Delicate and careful design in all phases is necessary to prevent costly, if not disastrous, failure. My advice to anyone planning to build or install a solar device or simply wishing to make a wise choice of a commercially built and installed unit is to go to an expert for assistance. Presently there are not enough local experts and that is why I am supporting the Department of Energy's plan to set up an Energy Extension Service to help communities with advice, publications and general information.

But as I said before, no single solution is going to ease our energy shortage. Even solar's abundance won't give us relief unless our energy program includes conservation. That 1973 newsletter of mine emphasized conservation -- and conservation continues to be the keystone in 1977 and 1978 and beyond. As a nation we have not responded to the crisis as have some other countries. We have to improve that record. However, some individual organizations have

The increased utilization of non-fossil fuel sources such as solar are a part of the challenge of conservation and efficiency that must reform the basis of our life style in the years ahead -- especially here in Arizona. Just as the United States finds itself dependent upon foreign oil, Arizona, with virtually no natural gas or oil, is dependent upon the producing states for these supplies. But solar power offers Arizona a measure of energy independence -- and we must take full advantage of the opportunity. These early demonstrations of solar energy use now being undertaken are important for at least two reasons: first, to uncover problems and reach solutions for future applications; and second, to make us more aware that the sun's energy can be harnessed to work for us.

For example, in Arizona there is a proposal to use an array of solar cells to generate 10 percent of the electrical needs of a new terminal at Sky Harbor Airport in Phoenix. Designed by the Motorola Corporation, the solar cell array would cover 10 acres and would produce 500 kilowatts of electrical power, making it the largest such project in the country. If authorized and completed, this project would give us vital experience in how to use local power generated together with an existing commercial power network, a significant technological advance.

Another federally funded project is underway near Coolidge with solar heat being used to run generators that produce electricity for deep well irrigation. Much of that irrigation now is powered by natural gas piped in from out of state. In agriculture, a cloudy day or two will not be

The Motorola project and the Coolidge test illustrate diversified sources as the way we ought to go in this country. Twenty years from now I think we'll see a major trend away from the centralized concept under which we now operate. Instead, we'll have moved towards utilizing local sources of non-fossil energy. The dependence on oil will be eased to a large extent, removing a principal cause of the punishing balance of trade deficits from our economy and going a long way toward making energy inflation a thing of the past.

Twenty years is a long way off, but there are things we can do today to hasten the growth of energy independence on the local and even the individual level.
  

A good place to start is:

Their free booklet, "Solar Hot Water and Your Home," is good. They have bibliographies for many aspects of solar heating and cooling.

An informative booklet entitled "Buying Solar" is available free in single copies.

Within Arizona information can be obtained from:

They have several free publications including a directory of Arizona firms working in solar energy and a synopsis of Arizona's current solar incentive laws.