Abstract
The contribution of American population growth to rising energy consumption is analyzed for the period 1947–91. Energy consumption is disaggregated into electricity and nonelectricity consumption, and by end-use sectors: residential and commercial, industrial, and transportation. Population growth has been relatively unimportant as a contributor to yearly fluctuations in energy consumption. However, whereas energy changes induced by nonpopulation factors are erratic, sometimes adding consumption and sometimes subtracting, population growth consistently adds to consumption. As a result, depending upon which energy sector is considered, population growth may have a dominant role in the longterm growth of consumption.
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References
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Mazur, A. How does population growth contribute to rising energy consumption in America?. Popul Environ 15, 371–378 (1994). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02208318
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02208318