Heinlein, Robert A – Expanded Universe

“But wood alcohol has its drawbacks. We may burn hydrogen someday. Or learn

to store electricity in less weight and less space. Or store energy in a flywheel.

But all of those, even hydrogen, are simply ways to store energy. It still leaves an

energy problem.”

“Hydrogen, too? But you said we would burn it. No?”

“We’ll burn it for some purposes; in some ways it’s the ideal fuel; its only

ash is water vapor. But, Ma’am, we don’t have hydrogen; we have water-and even with

perfect efficiency-never achieved-the energy you get out of hydrogen by burning it

cannot exceed the energy you must use in getting that hydrogen by electrolysis of

water. So you must generate electricity first.”

“I see. No free lunch.”

“Never a free lunch. But the energy problem can be solved several ways . . –

through renewable resources. We’ve been using nonrenewable resources-coal and oil

and cutting trees faster than they grow.”

“Renewable resources-Windmills and water power and sun power?”

“Wind and water power are fine but limited. I mean effectively unlimited

power. Such as this new wrinkle of thermoelectric power from the temperature

difference of deep ocean and surface ocean. But there aren’t too many really

convenient places to do that. You named the one energy that is unlimited and

convenient anywhere. Sun power.”

“So? What desert is convenient to the Gary steel mills?”

“Not desert, Ma’am; the Sierra Club wouldn’t like it.”

“I plan to tell the Sierra Club that they are not the government of the

United States. But in stronger language.”

“I look forward to hearing you, Madam President.

The Sierra Club loves deserts and hates people. But our deserts aren’t sufficient.

Sun power, yes-but unlimited sun power. In orbit.”

South Africa Enraged

United States Surprise Return to Gold Standard at $350 per Troy Ounce of Fine Gold

Has

Bourses in Turmoil

“New Policy Obvious Concommitant of

Return to Balanced Budget,” Says

Treasury Secretary Spokesman

“The Way to Resume is to Resume.”

By ADAM SMITH

Finance Editor

WASHINGTON-The Treasury Secretary, after reading aloud to the Press the President’s

brief announcement of resumption of specie payments immediately at $350/oz.,

emphasized that this was not a tactical maneuver to “strengthen the dollar,” not an

auction of bullion such as those in the past, but a permanent policy consistent with

the administration’s total policy. “A return to our traditional policy, I must add.

A century ago, for 15 years, war caused us to suspend specie payments-but never with

any intent to accept the vice of fiat money. Since 1971, as sequelae to 3 wars, we

have had a similar problem. By letting the dollar float until the world price of

gold in terms of dollars settled down, we have determined what could be called the

natural price. So we have resumed specie payment at a firm gold standard. God

willing, we will never leave it.”

This was in answer to the London Times correspondent’s

frosty inquiry as to whether or not the Secretary thought anyone would want our gold

at that price. The Treasury Secretary told him that we were not “selling gold” but

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promising to redeem our paper money at a gold-standard price. The Times’ question

was inspired by the fact that at the close of market Friday the London fix was $423.

195 per troy ounce, with the Zurich fix, the Winnipeg fix, and the Hong Kong fix

(the last only hours before the Washington announcement) all within a dollar of the

London fix.

PRAVDA: “-.capitalistic trickery-”

Moscow has not had a free market in gold since pre-1914 but, as a

gold-producing country, its response to our resumption policy has been even more

acid than the shrill complaints from Johannesburg. The Zurich gold market did not

open today. London opened on time but the price dropped at once, with the first

purchase at $397. 127, which slowed but did not stop the decline. Winnipeg opened an

hour late; the reason became clear when the Prime Minister announced the tying of

the Canadian dollar to the U.S. dollar at one-to-one-a fait aCCompli as the two

currencies have hunted up and down, never more than 1% apart, for the past several

months.

The timing of the announcement gave the world a weekend in which to think