Our reliance on fossil fuel for essentially all of our transportation systems and most of our electrical generation has had and will continue to have both local and global consequences. Control of major oil supply areas has led to international conflicts which have often included wars-clearly a source of detrimental economic effects.

     Another major consideration with continued global reliance on fossil fuels is the finite supply in the face of increasing demand. This is especially true with respect to easily available oil, where proven reserves will last only a few more decades. Although the supply of coal is enough to last several centuries, the environmental consequences of burning coal as a primary fuel would prove devastating.

     Historical experience with changing from one form of energy to another, such as, from wood to coal and from coal to oil, shows that it takes 50 to 80 years to accomplish this transition. The infrastructure to produce and supply, transport, store and utilize the new energy resource has to be designed, built, and operated. Not only does this involve large technical adaptations but also social, economic, and legal changes are required. The development of an OTEC system on friendly American or Allied territories would put the U.S. Government and any of it's allies that adopt this technology at the forefront of this process. Above all, OTEC systems would allow for a huge reduction in dependance on imported oil. Secondly, the production of energy from island states or territories or floating platforms grazing in nearby waters would yield an increase in domestic production of energy, because we would be utilizing a resource under the control of the United States. Yet, the reality of the magnitude of the available resource would ensure availability of tropical regions for potentially all countries to establish grazing areas to support domestic hydrogen consumption.

     One of the largest difficulties of the American Economy is that we import more than we export. The single largest import into America is Petroleum. Developing OTEC production and transitioning to a hydrogen economy with the help of oil companies and car companies such as General Motors and Daimler-Chrysler would help to equalize that balance. Fundamentally, we could significantly reduce the imbalance of payments in the United States, as well as improving import/export ratios for all adopting countries. With a reduction in dependecy on foreign imported resources, there could be a resultant reduction in international tension. This should result in a significant reduction in terrorist activity.

     Emminent implementation of an OTEC system couldn't happen at a better time in the world's history, considering recent tragic events, and their long-term ramifications for world economic structure and the reality of our shared environmental condition. The timing is very good economically for this type of system because interest rates are very low and comparitively, fossil fuel prices are very high.

     It is expected that with the experience gained in building these OTEC plants, that the capital costs will decrease. As with any kind of industry, the mass production and standardization of major and minor components utilized in the OTEC system will provide significant price reductions in the capital cost.