Energy, Economy, Population
Yu Kuwabara
Submitted to Prof. Husar
Sustainable Air Qualtiy
02-10-02
Energy trends with economy
and population
 The wealth of resources in the U.S. has provided U.S. the
ability to use many types of energy.
 With the growing technology, energy sources have changed
drastically in the last 50 years.
 Although total energy consumption has been increasing, the
use of energy per person and per dollar of the GNP have
been decreasing in recent years.
 Many of the trends have been affected by major events, such
as world wars, OPEC, recessions, etc.
Overall Energy Consumption
 The United States was self-sufficient in energy until the late
1950s when energy consumption started exceeding the
domestic energy production.
 From 1970 to 2000, U.S. energy consumption grew 45
percent while production rose only 13 percent.
Energy use per person
 The rate of energy use per person increased from 215 million Btu in
1949 until the oil price shocks of the mid-1970s and early 1980s.
 The trend in the 1990s was upward again, reaching 350 million Btu per
person in 2000, but not reaching the peak, which was reached in 1978
and 1979.
U.S. Population Trend
 The U.S. population has
been increasing at a steady
rate for the last half of the
century.
 The overall energy
consumption has tripled
since 1950, while the
population has more than
doubled.
Energy use per dollar
 Over the second half of the 20th century, the rate at which energy was
consumed per dollar of the economy’s output of goods and services fell
dramatically.
 By the end of the century, the rate was half of the mid-century level. The
rate in 2000 was 44 percent below that in 1970.
U.S. GDP Trends
 The GDP trends in the U.S. have dramatically increased in the last 50
years.
 The rate of increase of the GDP has increased at a much quicker rate
than the overall energy use.
GDP trends in the U.S. (Chained 1996)
10,000.00
9,000.00
8,000.00
GDP (B$)
7,000.00
6,000.00
5,000.00
4,000.00
3,000.00
2,000.00
1,000.00
1950
1960
1970
1980
year
1990
2000
2010
Energy consumption
by end-use
 The industrial sector of the economy used the largest share of energy
and showed the greatest volatility.
 There were two major drops in 1975 and 1980-83 in response to high
oil prices.
 Transportation was the next largest energy consuming sector, followed
by residential use and commercial use.
Residential & Commercial
 Coal, the leading source of energy prior to 1950 was gradually replaced
by other forms of energy.
 Natural gas rapidly rose until the early 1970s, and fluctuated around the
1970 level over the next three decades.
 The use of electricity steadily rose, as did the losses that came with it.
Industrial
 Similar to residential and commercial use, Coal gave way to natural gas
and petroleum in the late 1950s.
 Compared to the residential sector, the industrial consumption had more
fluctuations.
 The use of electricity grew tenfold over five decades.
Summary
 With the advancement of technology and the growth of
environmental concerns, the sources of energy changed
hands numerous times.
 Overall, the use of energy per person has been decreasing
since its peak in the late 70’s, although it has been increasing
in the recent years.
 The energy per dollar of the GDP has been decreasing since
the last half of the century.