Imagine this scenario: One morning you wake up, yawn, scratch yourself, and sit up. Wearily, you stumble out of bed. You go to your refrigerator for a glass of milk only to discover that the light inside does not turn on and everything inside it has been sitting at room temperature overnight and is quickly beginning to spoil. "That's funny,"you think to yourself. When you try to brew a cup of coffee the coffee maker does not seem to want to start. Your gas stove won't turn on, so it looks like there'll be no bacon and eggs this morning. As you sit down with your bowl of dry cereal, you glance out the window and wonder why there is no newspaper. You pick up your cordless phone to call the newspaper and complain, but it doesn't turn on either. You begin to panic and you run out to the car. It won't start. "What's going on?" you think to yourself. "Why doesn't anything work?"

Does this sound like the beginning to some strange science fiction novel? Well, the scenario we just illustrated could be very real indeed. Together, fossil fuels (coal, petroleum, natural gas, and their derivatives) provide more than 85% of the energy used by mankind today. Unfortunately, the reserves of those fuels are not infinite. Scientists predict that within the next two centuries we will run out of those valuable energy sources. Clearly, something must be done. But what?

The goal of this web page is to teach you, the viewer, more about the different methods of energy production that are in use or are being researched now. Will we turn more and more to hydroelectric power to serve our energy needs? Or will we perhaps someday discover the secret of fusion and thus be guaranteed a virtually inexhaustable energy source? Only time will tell. But this site will help educate its visitors about the energy crisis so that at least we will be informed. Perhaps someday, through the interactive game or the public message board, someone will come upon THE solution to our energy problems. Until then, enjoy the site, and prepare to learn why "Energy Matters."

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