space or water heating than if it uses natural gas, the most
common heating fuel. The larger the home, the more energy it
requires for heating, but apartments of the same size need less
than a row house or a town house, and these need less than a
semidetached house. The most energy consuming house is free
standing—exposed to the weather on all sides. If it uses
electric heat and central air conditioning and an electric water
heater besides, and has no insulation or other winterizing features
it is an energy glutton.
In
transportation, energy conservation depends on the weight, number,
and use made of the cars households own, if they own a car, and in
the degree to which household members use local and
intermetropolitan public transportation.
Choice
Another and
perhaps as important a conclusion is the extraordinary degree to
which households lack a choice in the most important energy using
features of their homes or transportation. The only households with
any substantial choice are affluent. Many of the others have little
alternative but to live in areas where the air is the dirtiest, and
the builder or landlord has already decided how the home is to be
heated and what equipment for cooking and washing are available.
But almost every household is locked into an energy system at home
and in transportation from which it cannot easily escape. The home
was there when bought or rented. It was not designed with an eye
for energy savings. The majority of households haven't the money to
change their structure. And to make matters worse, new housing is
increasingly energy intensive.
The
majority of households also live where public transportation is a
long walk away, is time consuming, or otherwise inconvenient. Thus
they use a car, especially to go to work. And the new cars as well
as the new homes coming on the market are more and more energy
consuming.
Recommendations
The
proposals that follow reflect these findings. They are placed in
the larger context of the major economic goal of full employment
and economic growth and stability. They also allow for policy
making procedures that are necessary for substantial modifications
in household energy use or choice.
None of the
proposals implies instant solution. But if plans begin now and
steps are taken soon, many of the changes can come about in five
years and perhaps most of them in a decade. A few that require
technological development or depend on action at several levels of
government may take longer. But nothing can happen without a
beginning.