Before oil's supremacy, coal was king. It was the bedrock of the industrial revolution in Europe and North America, and it still has a role to play. Technology can help, up to a point, with improvements like fluidised bed technology, which burns coal much more efficiently and results in much less pollution. But it seems highly unlikely that coal will ever recover its once-dominant position. But in half a century the world's nuclear industry has had at least three serious accidents.
Many people therefore reject new nuclear plants in the belief that more accidents are inevitable.
And apart from that, the industry still shows no sign of being able to get rid of its waste in safety. A third category of fuel comes under the heading of renewables. Some are tried and tested, like hydro-electric power, and many countries, for instance Norway, are already exploiting them to the full. Wind and wave power have promise, as does biomass - crops like willow which grow quickly and are increasingly being used for fuel. Transport fuel based on renewable oilseed crops such as soybeans and rapeseed also has potential.