text: is anyone old enough to remember? when the government wanted the alaskan pipeline (1970s), they told the american people that this would solve our oil problems with relation to importing oil. does anyone remember this? i go further back than that (uk). in the late 50's when the british government were building their first nuclear power stations they boasted that electricity would be so cheap in the 1980's that it would be uneconomical to read meters and send out bills.  but would you ever have believed even 25 years ago that people would be paying prime prices for water now.  in fact it is dearer than petrol over here.