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The American Energy Consumer
Table 7-1.Racial and Ethnic Population
Distribution (1970 for Race and 1972 for Ethnic Origin)
| Racial or ethnic
group |
Number (in
millions) |
Percent |
| Race |
203.2 |
100.0 |
| White |
177.7 |
87.5 |
| Black |
22.6 |
11.1 |
| American Indian |
.8 |
.4 |
| Japanese |
.6 |
.3 |
| Chinese |
.4 |
.2 |
| Filipino |
.3 |
.2 |
| All other |
.7 |
.4 |
| Ethnic group |
204.8 |
100.0 |
| English, Scots, or
Welsh |
29.5 |
14.4 |
| German |
25.5 |
12.5 |
| Irish |
16.4 |
8.0 |
| Spanish |
9.2 |
4.5 |
| Mexican-American |
5.3 |
2.6 |
| Puerto Rican |
1.5 |
.7 |
| Cuban |
.6 |
.3 |
| Central or South
American |
.6 |
.3 |
| Spain and other |
1.2 |
.5 |
| Italian |
8.8 |
4.3 |
| French |
5.4 |
2.6 |
| Polish |
5.1 |
2.5 |
| Russian |
2.2 |
1.1 |
| Other or mixed |
85.1 |
41.6 |
| Unknown or not
reported |
17.6 |
8.6 |
| Source: Prepared by
Washington Center for Metropolitan Studies from data in U.S. Bureau
of the Census, Census of Population, 1970, vol. I,
Characteristics of the Population, Part I, U.S. Summary,
Section 1, Table 48, p. 262; Current Population Reports, Population
Characteristics, Characteristics of the Population by Ethnic
Origin: March 1972 and 1971, Series P-20, No. 249, April 1973,
p. 1, Table 1, p. 19; Series P-20, No. 238, March 1972, Table 1, p.
3. |
gap. They compare black household characteristics with the
amount, cost, and price of energy used, by source, with other
households.
Analysis of
energy use by race is significant for energy policy. On the one
hand, blacks are a disadvantaged group in the American society and
economy, so that energy availability and cost are critical
influences on their level of living. On the other hand, black
households have increasing importance in the consumer market for
energy, because their level of living has improved over the past
two decades, and because they make up a large percentage of the
population in central cities of metropolitan areas.