New trends in physics teaching, v.4; The ... - unesdoc - Unesco

An obvious question arises: why did European countries, with their limited energy resources,
accept a form of growth that would lead most of them to depend so heavily on foreign supply?
The answer is obtained by quoting and discussing various OECD policy statements, which assume
as a matter of fact that the commercial and political supremacy of European countries wil
permit them to obtain at low cost, growing energy imports (this is an example of discussion
relating to objective (e). This fundamental assumption has proved wrong during the last decade.
(3) Actual situation. In this section, the post-1973 situation is discussed, by comparing data
on various scales: World, Europe, Italy. Another example of a misleading graph, of different
origin from those seen before, may be of interest, (see figures 3a, b).
30
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Pr ce of Arabian Light 0 I [doilar/berrel I
Italy
26 0
20
-
-
0
L 0 -
n
\ .
10
- r‘
r
I
1971 1 9 7 2 1 9 7 3 1974 1975 1976 1977 1976 1979 I980
F g 3a
110
-
/
/
I
70
60
50
-
-
-
Figure 3a, b. Alternative presentations of the price of Arabian light oil, 1971 to 1980.
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