ABSTRACT
The United States has substantial freedom of choice in shaping its energy future. The level of energy consumption can be varied, and the balance between environmental quality (including human health and safety) and other goals can be adjusted. The relative reliance on different energy forms and sources can be shifted, and so can the ratio of domestic to imported energy. Even the institutions through which decisions are made can be altered. But these choices are interrelated, they are complex, they are controversial, and, what makes them even more difficult, they are important. These characteristics have led to failure of the decision process in the past; the task is to improve that process for the future.
