ABSTRACT
The costs of fossil resources are generally evaluated solely in terms of their market prices. Yet if we are finally to take on board the other, far more problematic side of the equation, then we must include the many and various incidences of environmental damage arising from the consumption of coal, gas and oil. Environmental costs being difficult to calculate exactly, almost every concrete figure has been successfully shot down. One thing, however, is clear: the environmental costs are so vast that it would be irresponsible to ignore them simply because it is difficult to pin them down to a precise figure. On top of the environmental costs, there are also political costs, which although even more difficult to quantify can be described and estimated in political terms.
