Air pollution and electric power

No one is in favor of air pollution. However, it is not possible today to eliminate it; the best we can do is to lessen it. We must balance what we would like against what it will cost. To the economist this suggests the cost-benefit approach by which the costs of a proposed decision are added up, a value is computed for the benefits, and if the latter exceeds the former there is economic justification. With this in mind the author discusses the various developments in the area of pollution abatement. For the energy technology of the future these developments point to two general paths, the first leading to an ´electric economy´ and the second to a ´gas economy.´