Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
the export of the large amount of money that pays for
those imports. With the high price of oil (
$
per barrel
in
), even those few people who do not believe that
cutting greenhouse gas emissions is important to reduce
the danger of climate change agree that reducing oil
imports is important and have become allies in a move
toward a more ef
cient economy.
With those conclusions, it is surprising that so little has
been made of the opportunities. In a market economy like
those of most of the developed countries of the world,
consumer demand forces manufacturers to comply with
that demand in order to be competitive, or manufacturers
see an advantage and work to convince the customers to
buy what the manufacturers want to sell, or the govern-
ment sees some national importance that makes it force
ef
ciency on the society. Until recently the price of
energy was so low that there was little if any consumer
pressure for energy ef
ciency, manufacturers had little
incentive to invest in better ef
ciency technology, and
there was no concern on the national level because of
any economic drain on the economy from energy prices.
We have been through a major problem before with the
cost of energy. In the early
s the Arab members of
OPEC imposed an embargo on oil shipments to Europe
and North America, and the price of gasoline shot up. In
the Iranian revolution deposed the Shah; the United
States gave the Shah sanctuary; and the Iranian students
seized the American Embassy, holding the staff hostage for
nearly two years. Oil prices remained high for over a decade.
Long lines at gasoline stations and high prices stimulated
the government to action, and the action was effective.
I used a version of
Figure
.
in
Chapter
as an illustration
