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A STATEMENT released to a ‘‘special to weeklies” from Lt. Gov. John Dalton of Virginia starts off in ringing tones: “The U. S. should seek new sources of energy rather than accept a lower standard of living caused by scarce or expensive fuel. . .”
Dalton, who wants to step up to be Governor of Virginia, went on to warn that “a perpetual shortage of energy would reduce our standard of living and impede further economic growth.” Just to make certain that this message wasn’t lost, Dalton went on to use a favorite whipping boy in the supposed conflict between economic growth advocators and “conservationists”; said he, “Some people like Ralph Nader may want to live in a world poor in energy, but I don’t.”
Come now, Mr. Lieutenant GovernoraD. of us, not only Americans but everyone everywhere on the face of this finite globe, are going to live “in a world poor in energy” in the coming years whether they want to or not. A “world poor in energy,” that is, in relation to the manner in which people, especially Americans, have been squandering it.
Oil fields have definite capacities; the prospects for new wells is not limitless; coal, despite some patriotic protes - tations to the contrary, will not last forever; all fossil fuels are threatened by the current rate of consumption; there are only so many streams to dam up; there is only so much the sun’s heat can be made to do, given the present state of our technology. We are going to have to make adjustments—have to.
BUT these facts of life don’t necessarily mean that Americans will be forced to adopt “a lower standard of living.” A different standard, yes, one not so wasteful and careless of precious inheritances.
According to Denis Hayes of the Worldwatch Institute, a nonprofit research organization with headquarters in Washington, D. C., wasted energy may account for 30, or even 50 per cent of all the
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