Chapter 8; Energy Crisis and Transition

Dispersion (Continued)

Chapter 8: Energy Crisis and Transition

Energy Crisis of the 1970’s

Five Stages of the Energy Crisis

U.S. oil production could no longer keep pace with demand. Reliance on OPEC
1972: OPEC price hikes. Nixon announces "Project Independence" to decrease reliance on foreign energies.
Mid 70’s: Crisis subdued, energy once again became plentiful. Think tanks emerged but no coherent energy policy. A failure to rethink demand!
1979: Iran cuts off oil supply. Made the public angry and bitter. Simultaneous inflation and stagflation.
Ronald Reagan: OPEC was not able to keep some members from overproducing. Prices dropped.

Realities: The crisis was the result of increasing domestic demands "and the failure of the U.S. government to devise long-term policies."

Overconsumption

Few realized that the crisis existed because of overuse.
Energy supply thought to be limitless.
1970’s: Electricity consumption increased 50 percent.
Simple journey to the grocery store a high-energy activity. More energy involved than a Colonial household used in a week.
Why? Most goods are outrageously packaged. (I.e. Plastics)
Americans annually throwing away more than 100 million cubic meters of Styrofoam "peanuts."
A "throwaway society."
The high-energy middle-class standard of living was not a victim of the energy crisis but rather, a source.
Over the past 50 years, the U.S. had to double their power plant capacity every 10 years.

Nuclear Power

Proposed "solution" to the crisis.
1970’s increased from 15 to 74 reactors.
Reactors took 10 years to build from planning stage to actual completion.
During that time, public mood changed. The China Syndrome and Three Mile Island incident.
"Our Friend the Atom" campaign never grasped by the public.
80,000 year half-life for waste from reactor.

Cures for the Crisis

"Soft energy paths" sought for recyclable and renewable power. Potential to produce constant energy income from solar, wind, and water power versus a limited supplies of fossil fuels and other capital.
Public sentiment: Wasting money on interplanetary travel should be spending on public transportation to conserve energy.
High-tech solutions included heat pumps for homes and monorails for mass transit.
Parable: Companies admitted to weakness and vulnerability in their products, but their new products will alleviate the problem.
U.S. auto manufacturers however, completely ignored the energy crisis.
"Gas Guzzlers": 1973 Ford Thunderbird. V-8 460 cubic inch engine.

Difficulties with Energy Ecology

Methods that worked best were those that provided economic incentives.
Energy deeply enmeshed into the consumer lifestyle. Few people willing to make adjustments. (I.e. Carpooling)
The poor, who consumed little energy, had to adjust their driving and home heating far more than the middle class.
Americans regarded easy access to energy as their right.
"Driving had become a part of the inalienable right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness."
Consumption is national progress and social goodness.
"The individual pushing a cart through the supermarket is visibly pursuing his or her happiness.
An actual achievement of freedom, independence and mobility.
Americans viewed the energy crisis as a threat to their way of life.
U.S.: 5 percent of the world’s population but uses 25 percent of oil consumption and 22 percent of carbon emissions.

The Computer

Computers realized improvements in energy efficiency.
1995: 32 PC’s for every 100 Americans. Close to the ratio for auto’s in the 1950’s.
"The postmodern person is hard to locate in space and time."
International systems emerged. Fax machines, modems, cable lines, and the Internet redesigned production and consumption.
Although computers facilitated the deskilling of workers in factory environments, many of the same systems broke down and required workers to become more skilled to operate them.
"Lean Production": factory computerization lowered the amount of high-wage effort needed to produce a product.

High-Energy Culture vs. Electronic Culture

The automobile led to a dispersion of the population.
The PC allowed "self-conscious groups to form without much reference to nationwide advertising."
A creation of a new identity emerged.
Computer programmers work weeks increased to 50-60 hours.
Leisure time became more like work. Exercise fanatics. Muscle power once a central aspect was now generated for leisure time.
Reasoning for decrease of leisure time? The globalization of competition and the rising expectations of American consumers.
End of the 90’s, energy crisis mostly forgotten.