Surface coal mining in Alaska 1980, an investigation of the surface mining control and reclamation act of 1977 in relation to Alaskan conditions

MIRL
Wed, 22 Apr 2026 18:09:08 PDT

The Nation today is faced with a serious energy problem. Domestic production of petroleum has been declining in recent years, while our dependence on foreign oil has been increasing. We continue to be vulnerable to interruptions in the supply of foreign oil similar to that which occurred in 1973. In addition to nuclear power, our principal alternative to oil, at least for the near term, is coal. The energy that might be obtained from coal is more than an order of magnitude greater than can be obtained from oil. The need to develop domestic coals resources is obvious, and there is little doubt that coal will play an increasingly important role in our energy future.