Brittle Power- PARTS 1-3 (+Notes) - Natural Capitalism Solutions

Chapter Seventeen: Achieving Resilience 309Table 3 Major Economic Costs to Communities of Expensive Energyand Interruptions in Energy Supply (Continued)COST OFENERGYINTERRUPTIONSEFFECT ONCOMMUNITYThe U.S. has not yetexperienced a reallyserious or prolongedsupply disruption.Market allocationsbroke down in shortagesof a few percent.Foreign and domesticvulnerabilities couldproduce much largerand longer shortages,multiplyingmanifold.pricesEFFECT ON LOCALGOVERNMENTRequired governmentresponses are costlyand generally unbudgeted,coming just asrevenues plummet.Breakdown of vitalservices could incurvery large social costs.Localities likely tobear the brunt of copingwith allocatingscarce supplies, keepingorder, and handlingfamily/neighborhoodemergencies.Stress could equal orexceed the worst in theGreat Depression, fwith added medicalcosts, crime, etc.EFFECT ON LOCALINDUSTRYPlant closures—verycostly and disruptive.The 1976–77 gasshortage shut 4,000factories; others werewilling to pay25–50 times normalgas/electricity price tostay open. Futureshortages couldinvolve several energyforms at once.aTsongas 1981; Clark 1981a:6.bData from International City Management Association, quoted in Woolson & Kleinman 1981cSchaffer 1981a.dMork & Hall 1980, 1980a (converting 1972 to 1980 dollars by multiplying by 1.774).eJennings 1980:1,48.fDeese & Nye 1981. Much of the damage might be slow or impossible to reverse: ComptrollerGeneral of the U.S. 1981b:II:8.ply alternatives are locally available, and what the economic consequences of“business as usual” might be. From this base of information, communitiesgenerally do not find it hard to reach consensus on what they should do next.• A moment for telling the truth, when community leaders and citizens arepresented with the results of the assessments and urged to participate in furtherprograms. 35 The early participation of diverse interests will have helpedto build a political base for continued and broadened participation as theeffort moves from a paper study to suggested actions. Specific events, such astown meetings, workshops, specialized presentations, and advisory groupmeetings can help to focus that participation and provide a forum. “Energyfairs”—like those already held (generally under private sponsorship) in over a