ABSTRACT
Apart from the health and environmental impacts that are apt to occur routinely, year in and year out, there are also the threats of some infrequent (perhaps very highly improbable) events that could produce catastrophic effects. Generally such events have not yet occurred, and perhaps they never will; but there is a fear that they might, and they deserve separate treatment here for that reason. If an energy catastrophe actually took place, the public might consider any technology closely identified with it unacceptable for further use. In fact, because some aspects of coal, nuclear, and other energy technologies can be associated with hypothetical catastrophes, the public may choose to place a special value on minimizing even the remote possibilities of their occurrence.
