California is making the news for its skyrocketing power prices, but the cost for home heating oil and natural gas are also rising quickly this winter. Most folks trying to study the West Coast morass cite poorly planned deregulation, profiteering or even over-regulation as the root of the problem, and there is an element of truth in all three.

But the finger pointing must, eventually, come full circle -- Americans are using more energy per person than ever. As long as that energy comes from fossil fuels, we are, as a popular folk singer said long ago, “riding down the road to ruin.”

Electricity rates vary from state to state, but home heating oil now costs on average 42 cents a gallon more than it did at this time last year. Wholesale natural gas has quadrupled in a year, and though gasoline has dropped from its summer peak levels, it is increasing in price.

While business and industry have sought every conceivable way to cut costs and become energy efficient, Americans at home have not. Housing units with seven or more rooms have risen 32 percent since 1978. While homes have become more efficient, they have become larger and therefore use more energy to heat and cool. Also in the last 20 years, the percentage of homes in the Midwest with central air conditioning doubled to 51 percent; in the South, the percentage rose from 37 percent to 70 percent. Add to these figures the fact that computers, microwaves, dishwashers and an array of other energy-sucking appliances are now commonplace, and it becomes obvious why we are perhaps on the verge of a real energy shortage. Especially since regulations and costs have prevented most power companies from building new plants.

According to an executive for Exxon quoted in the Wall Street Journal, the average household expenditure for energy has actually fallen since the late 1970s, from 10 percent of household income to 7 percent. That’s because we have had relatively stable energy prices since the oil scare of the mid-1970s.

On top of the energy we are consuming at home, we must not forget our penchant for large automobiles, particularly SUVs. These gas guzzlers have become status symbols and family wagons for the “I won’t drive a minivan” crowd. At the same time, according to one energy research firm, we are driving more than ever. In 1980, Cambridge Energy Research Associates say the average licensed driver piled up 9,700 miles a year. In 1998, they were totaling 13,000 miles, up 34 percent.

A dinner conversation over the holidays had one guest bemoaning efforts to conserve fuel and energy: “Americans won’t use public transit, it’s not in our mentality.” There’s little doubt to the veracity of that statement, but a national energy policy focusing on conservation is long overdue. Industry and business in this country have proven the value in smart energy policy, but we must also convince households to do the same. Perhaps the economic slowdown that is now widely expected will lead us down the road to a long-term plan that rewards frugality. Lord knows we need it.

 

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The Smoky Mountain News