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The Freeman 1972 - The Ludwig von Mises Institute

The Freeman 1972 - The Ludwig von Mises Institute

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19'72ENERGY: THE ULTIMATE RAW MATERIAL489200::I 150~CCI....cenc:=...ea! 100os.eau-CD=->-eṉCD C.....501000 2000Gross national productper capita (dollars)3000Figure 1. Nations GNP and energy use, 1961and transport. Figure 2 shows thehistorical U.S. GNP growth inconstant 1958 dollars (where theeffect of inflation is taken out)and energy consumption in Quads(a Quad is a quadrillion Btu, or amillion times a billion BtU).l1 Itappears that of late, energygrowth lags a little behind GNPgrowth. An increase inafHuencewithout corresponding increase inenergy use has never beenachieved in the past and is difficultto see in the future.<strong>The</strong>re may be frivolous uses ofenergy, such as the electric toothbrush;but the bulk is necessaryto our way of life: home firesshould be kept warm, people haveto get to werk, f00d must be delivered,and the wheels of industryhave to turn. <strong>The</strong> pattern of

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