Marilyn L. Nemzer, Anna K. Carter, and Kenneth P. Nemzer

Marilyn L. Nemzer is executive director of the Geothermal Energy Office (GEO), an organization that promotes public understanding about geothermal resources. Anna K. Carter is principle of the Geothermal Support Services in Santa Rosa, California and Kenneth P. Nemzer, former chair of the Geothermal Resources Association in Tiburon, California, is an attorney. In the following viewpoint the authors report that geothermal energy—obtained from heat stored within the earth—can help developed countries cut their reliance on foreign oil and help the economies of developing countries grow. Heat or hot water piped from below the earth’s surface where magma is rising can generate electricity or be put to direct use for agriculture, heating, and industrial production.

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