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butter, and refined pastries have re–
placed natural whole grain prod–
ucts. A variety of highly processed,
preserved and packaged "foods"
have made their ways into our diets.
Every step in these processes re–
quires energy.
We have witnessed a wholesale
sbift from natural fibers to synthetic
fibers, as well. Synthetic fiber pro–
duction in the United States, for ex–
ample, increased by a staggering
1,972% between 1950 and 1968,
whereas cotton and wool use de–
creased by 33% and 61%. respec–
tively. The use of plastics increased
by 1,024%, while 1umber use de–
creased by 23% between 1946 and
1968.
In the case of synthetic fibers -
polyester, nylon, acetate, etc. - and
plastics, the very products them–
selves are manufactured from the
same nonrenewable coa!, oil or nat–
ural gas derivatives, from which
great amounts of energy are re–
quired in the manufacturing pro–
cess.
Obviously, this type of modern
technology is doubly consumptive
of our nonrenewable energy re–
serves. In many cases, it is simply
wasteful and abusive of our energy
resources.
Energy Down on the Farm
More and more crops are being
grown "synthetically." WhiJe gaso–
line- powered combines harvest
wheat , diesel-powered tractors
plough adjacent fie lds to make them
ready for a second crop. Through
the intensification of mechanized
farming and the use of chemical fer–
tilizers, men have learned how to
convert naturally existing fuels in–
directly into crops.
Electricity generated mainly from
coa!, oil and natural gas is used to
combine nitrogen from the air with
other materials to make synthetic
nitrogen fertilizer- which increased
in production by over 500% in the
United States between 1946 and
6
1968. Through massive applications
of synthetic fert ilizers, yields of
grain and other crops have in–
creased tremendously. But the pro–
tein content - the measure of a
truly high qua1ity grain - of these
same crops has correspondingly de–
creased.
Efficiency per man-hour on the
farm has increased to the point
where one
U.
S. farmer can supply
enough food and fiber for more
than 40 other people. In Europe, the
production per man-hour due to in–
creased mechanization and use of
chemical fertilizers is rising dramati–
cally, though it's not currently as
high as in the United States.
Yet , if we measure efficiency by
considering
total energy consumed
per unit of crop produced, the ap–
parently efficient Western farmer
falls far below even the Chinese
peasant.
An efficient Chinese wet rice
farmer produces 50 units of crop
(measured in BTU's of energy con–
tained in the harvested material) for
each
single unit
of human energy
expended. In Western mechanized
farming, 50 units of crop requires
250 units
of fossil fue! energy input!
This astounding disparity is sus–
tainéd by the proftigate con–
sumption of our fossil fue! reserves.
According to Michael J. Per–
elman, assistant professor of eco–
nomics at California State
University at Chico, "Agriculture
could be an
energy producing
sector
of the economy.. . . Yet our agricul–
ture has become a major
consumer
of our stores of energy.
In
fact, agri–
culture uses more petroleum than
any other single industry''
(Environ–
ment,
October 1972. p. 12).
Chinese peasant farming and
Western agriculture represen t the
two
extremes
of present-day food
production. Neither extreme is
ideal , fo r many reasons. The Chi–
nese peasant must spend most of his
time acquiring a subsistence stan–
dard of living. He has little time or
money for luxuries common to the
Western world. Yet Western society,
in its search to free man from labor,
has simply carried the luxuries -
and wastefulness - too far and has
gone beyond good judgment, espe–
cially in the use of our rich energy
resources. Somewhere between
these extremes, man must find a less
wasteful, more efficient way to use
his energy resources.
Roll ing on Synthetic
Rubber Tires
Western farm machinery, autos
and airplanes are not just propelled
by fue!. All of these devices require
rubber tires for ground traction. l n–
terestingly enough, even the tires
contribute to the energy crisis. Syn–
thetic rubber , requir ing great
amounts of energy to manufacture,
has largely replaced natural rubber
since World War
H.
Consequently,
rubber plantations which use renew–
able solar energy to produce natural
rubber, have gone out of business.
The reason was not quality of rub–
ber, but economics. After World
War 11, the world rubber market
was ftooded with the synthetic vari–
ety, which drove prices down and
forced natural ru bber plantations
out of business.
Other transportation changes
have made heavy demands on en–
ergy resources, as well. Shipments
by truck in the United States, for
example, have increased by 74% be–
tween 1950 and 1968, whereas rail–
road freight, which uses only one
quarter as much fue! per ton-mile as
trucks (and does not require rubber
tires) decreased by 7% during the
same period. Speed and ftexibility
are reasons for increases in hauling
by truck.
Our !ove affair with the automo–
bile also contributes heavily to the
continuing energy crisis. A promi–
nent automobile manufacturer re–
cently stated, "Mini-cars make
mini-profits" and thus explained the
reason for the auto manufacturers'
ad campaigns for bigger cars, which,
PLAIN TRUTH July-August 1973