Solar Energy

To the Editors of The Crimson:

In the editorial entitled "Sun Day Sermon" (Crimson, May 1), Dr. David Jhirad, Acting Director of the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS), was misquoted as having said that solar energy could provide for the entire energy needs of the United States before the end of the century. The error was mine. In fact, on the basis of a comprehensive two-year study performed by Dr. Jhirad and his colleagues, Dr. Jhirad concludes that aggressive implementation of the solar option (encouraged by federal purchasing programs and tax incentives), combined with efficient fossil-fuel use, could result in solar energy providing one-quarter of the nation's energy needs in the year 2000 and all its energy needs by the middle of the next century. A recent report by the Council on Environmental Quality has made similar predictions for the year 2000. Jhirad notes that an all-out government effort could, of course, accelerate the transition from non-renewable to renewable energy sources. --Faige E. Tolbert '79   Chairman, Harvard-Radcliffe Ecology Action