Abstract
The main tenet of this paper is that up to this time there has in fact been little incentive for consumers to conserve energy. An analysis of the three main types of energy user (industry, transportation and residential) and the ways in which energy may be conserved will show that the political action and legislation necessary for conservation would fail in our democratic society. It will be illustrated that a sudden decrease in energy consumption will cause any or all of the following to occur:- government revenues will fall, unemployment increase, companies go bankrupt, and an increase in prices. The final conclusion is in fact that we will only conserve energy when by economic necessity we have to and that time has not yet arrived.
"It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done, it is a far, far better rest that I go to than I have ever known." -- Sydney Carton [Charles Dickens, "A Tale of Two Cities"]
Recommended Citation
Worrall, B. M., "The Effects of Energy Conservation on Politics, Employment and Inflation" (1978). UMR-MEC Conference on Energy / UMR-DNR Conference on Energy. 381, pp. 290-298.
https://scholarsmine.mst.edu/umr-mec/381
Meeting Name
5th Annual UMR-DNR Conference on Energy (1978: Oct. 10-12, Rolla, MO)
Document Type
Article - Conference proceedings
Session
Political and Social Implications of Energy
Document Version
Final Version
File Type
text
Language(s)
English
Rights
© 1978 University of Missouri--Rolla, All rights reserved.
Publication Date
12 Oct 1978
