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sheep over sparse East African
rangeland could carry on his back
his total yearly energy consumption
in coal equivalent. H is coal sack
would weigh a meager 71 pounds.
(The above figures do not include
food energy consumption.)
.
Changes in Technology
One quite obvious reason for the
increasing energy consumption in
the developed world
is
an increasing
popu1at ion that demands more and
more goods and services. In the
United States, the population in-
creased by 43% during the period
1946 to 1966. Yet
U.
S. energy con–
sumption more than doub1ed. By
the year 2000, the
U.
S. popu1ation
is projected to be near 270 million ,
roughly a 30% increase over the
1970 figure. Yet energy con–
sumption is projected to be four or
five times greater than at present!
Obvious1y, popu1ation increase
a1one does not explain the increase
in energy consumption. Actually, it
is
increased per capita consumption
of energy
which explains the overall
increase and the present energy
crunch.
Why, then, are people consuming
more energy per person today than
before? The answer líes in signifi–
can! changes in technology.
Since World War
ll,
we have seen
dramatic changes in the way af–
ftuent people li ve their lives. For ex–
ample, even though people consume
roughly the same number of calories
of food per day as they did 25 years
ago. the
kinds
of foods and the
packaging have changed dramati-
cally. Substitutes have replaced nat-
ural foods. such as margarine for
TREMENDOUS
usage of electrical
power (upper left) for pleasure and
profit. This strip in downtown las
Vegas, Nevada, is brilliantly lit up
at night to attract gamblers and plea·
sure seekers. Devastation caused by
strip mining is starkly revealed in this
view of barren, convoluted mines
(lower left) . Such scars - when not
covered up - are a constant reminder
of the ecological crisis.
Top. Al teitar - Ploin Trulh
Lower lelt, Jerry Genlry - Ploin
T
rulh