Showing papers on "Energy policy published in 1986"

Energy use: the human dimension

Abstract: This book discusses the major social and political components of energy policy. By putting energy in its human context, the report generates new policy options for solving specific energy problems and suggests broad new approaches to energy policy. Commissioned by the Department of Energy, the book demonstrates the folly of making energy decisions without a basic understanding of the continuing social conflict over the nature of energy and the many noneconomic factors that influence its use. It emphasizes the importance of seeing energy problems and solutions in terms of social systems rather than single causes; designing energy systems for adaptability as an alternative to detailed planning; and treating energy policies and programs as the social experiments they are. The contents are: The Human Dimension; Thinking About Energy; Some Barriers to Energy Efficiency; Individuals and Households as Energy Users; Operations and Energy Consumption; Energy Emergencies; Local Energy Action; Conclusions and Recommendations.

Renewable Energy Technologies: Their Applications in Developing Countries

Abstract: This book provides a valuable overview of the prospects for new and renewable energy technologies and their possible role in energy planning in developing countries. Contents include: biomass energy; production; conversion; utilisation; biomass engines and biomass fuels; solar energy systems; wind energy systems; and hydro energy systems.

The Competitive Floor to World Oil Prices

Abstract: National Science Foundation, SES-8412971, and Energy Laboratory Center for Energy Policy Research

Policy as a moving target: a call for conceptual realism

Abstract: Since the early 1970s, policy scholars have paid great attention to issues of policy implementation, treating it as the “missing link” between policy formulation and results. Most often, policy problems have been seen as static phenomena that can be corrected by carefully specified programs. This paper, drawing upon examples from Swedish energy policy, argues that this is not the case, that political and social conditions are so prone to change that implementation must be a dynamic process if it is to be effective. This has distinct conceptual and practical implications for the study and design of policy implementation.

The Great Transition: Energy and Economic Change

Abstract: This paper examines the interactions between energy prices and economic growth since the first world oil crisis in 1973. Its title comes from a report by the Swedish National Energy Administration. The report, which details the transition of the world economy from low-priced to high-priced energy, is an excellent overview of the interrelationships between industrial-ized economies and international energy markets.

Energy and growth: A comparison of 13 industrial and developing countries

Abstract: The traditional approach to national energy issues and planning has been strongly supply oriented-planning has focused on aggregate quantities like fuel production, imports and exports, and how to meet growing demand by adding to supplies. The most serious flaw in this approach is that it dehumanizes energy planning by ignoring the major determinants and opportunities for change which lie at the level of individual people and their needs. This book demonstrates that sound energy planning must be rooted in a detailed understanding of energy demand and the social and economic activities which not only consume energy but also make up the pattern of life in a country. Its approach combines analysis of energy use with coverage of a wide sample of countries. The countries studied are UK, France, West Germany, USA, Japan, Philippines, Brazil, Portugal, Chile, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Kenya.

Coal In Appalachia: An Economic Analysis

Abstract: Coal, the nation's most abundant fossil fuel and the only one that is exported, represents one of our most valuable natural resources. This study undertakes a thorough review of the economics of the Appalachian coal industry. It establishes, first of all, the international framework within which the American and the Appalachian coal industry function. It next examines the underlying principles that govern the production of and the demand for coal. This demand is influenced not only by price but also by world politics, the economic well-being of dozens of countries, government regulation, and the availability of fuel substitutes. Included are a comprehensive treatment of the regulation of the industry, the effects of coal utilization on air quality, land reclamation, safety, transport, and legislation pertaining to port use. In conclusion, Harvey looks at the prospects for Appalachian coal, considering the impact of technologies such as fluidized bed combustion and coal-water slurry and the issue of energy policy and fuel alternatives. The picture that emerges is not unexpected -- an industry whose recovery and enduring health depend on resurgence of world and domestic economic activity, social and political stability, and government regulation.

Energy Efficiency in Buildings: Progress and Promise

Abstract: The purpose of this book is twofold: to review current knowledge on energy use and efficiency in residential and commercial buildings and to suggest important research and program topics for future study. The introductory chapters set the stage for subsequent discussions of what we now know and where we want to go. We first review overall patterns of energy use in residential and commercial buildings and the dramatic changes in energy trends after 1973, including the roles of government, utility, and private sector efforts in making these changes. We next discuss reasons for continuing research and programs to improve energy efficiency in buildings and note the complexity and diversity among buildings in their design, construction, operation, maintenance, and use. We then turn our attention to how much has been accomplished and learned about reducing energy use in buildings since the 1973 oil embargo. Finally, we offer many suggestions that merit attention in both the short and long terms. The short-term proposals flow logically from current research and programs on energy efficient buildings. The long-term agenda (including several visions of the future) covers ideas that, in some ways, require changes in how we view our built environment and the social institutionsmore » under which buildings are constructed and operated. 406 refs., 52 figs., 33 tabs.« less

Review of Government and Utility Energy Conservation Programs

Abstract: Government and utility conservation programs have increased tremendously in scope, breadth, intensity, and sophistication since the 1973 oil embargo. Early programs were mainly ''soft'' information and education efforts designed to increase citizen and customer awareness of energy issues and energy-efficiency options. In general, these programs were developed in a crisis atmosphere. The prevailing views then were that something had to be done, that almost any well-intentioned program was likely to be of value, and that we could not afford the luxury of carefully assessing program alternatives.

Will Mandatory Conservation Promote Energy Efficiency in the Selection of Household Appliance Stocks

Abstract: This paper estimates a nested logit model for space heat and water heat choice using data from the National Interim Energy Consumption Survey (NIECS) by the Department of Energy in 1978. (See Dubin, 1983) for references to the data set and a detailed discussion of procedures used to prepare the data for economic analysis.) The use of micro-level disaggregated survey data to estimate discrete choice models of heating, ventilating, and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems has been very recent, but one can find a few related models in Dubin and McFadden (1984), Brownstone (1980), Goett (1979), Hausman (1979), and McFadden, Puig, and Kirschner (1977). One of the virtues of the structure developed here is that it has been embedded successfully in a larger micro-simulation system (the Residential End-Use Energy Policy System (REEPS)) for purposes of policy forecasting (Goett [1979]).

Miners and Mining in the Americas

Abstract: This book compiles papers on miners and mining. Topics include national and international mining policy, labor relations in mining, standards of living of miners and sociology of miners.

Is There a Government Role in Methanol Market Development

Abstract: Given that a transportation fuel transition away from oil will occur, this paper explores fuel selection and government involvement. Arguments are made for choosing a petroleum replacement now, establishing methanol as the fuel of choice, planning for the transition and involving government in market readiness. Mandatory introduction of methanol compatible fuel vehicles and a national fuel distribution system, so that the marketplace can accommodate methanol when it is economically viable, is proposed. The cost of this approach is comparable to that of other energy activities designed to deal with transportation's oil dependence.

Economics of the energy industries

Abstract: Figures and Tables Preface An Economic Approach: Measures and Analysis Energy: An Economist's View Energy Flows Markets, Prices, and Efficiency Energy and Economic Growth Guessing about Future Consumption and Production The Extractive Industries Reserves and Resources The Economic Theory of the Mine The Coal Industry The Oil Industry The Natural Gas Industry The Energy Conversion Industries The Electric Utility Industry Nuclear Power Other Sources of Energy Problems and Policies Health, Safety, and Environment Government Policy Selected References Index

Industrial Energy Rationalization in Developing Countries

Abstract: Despite the recent worldwide easing of energy supplies, the high cost of energy presents a continuing challenge to most developing countries. Even a modest economic growth will increase their demand for imported energy unless the energy intensity of their economics is reduced. Fortunately, most developing countries have significant opportunities to use energy more efficiently. This book makes the case for such energy rationalization in industry and explains the potential for energy conservation and fuel diversification. Drawing extensively on the recent experience of the World Bank and its member countries, the authors describe how to develop and operate a national industrial energy rationalization program.

Public Choice Theory Applied to National Energy Policy: The Case of France

Abstract: Public choice theory offers a conceptually important means of examining policy decisions and their social and economic consequences in the field of natural resources. Through a public choice analysis of France's ambitious program to nuclearize its electrical industry by the year 2000, I examine the origins, merits and deficiencies of French nuclear policy. Public choice theory's major assumptions – that a policy's costs and benefits are a function of resource abundance and level of development and that a resource's management is shaped by its character and availability – are largely valid. However, the need to reconcile competing social values and to distribute policy benefits fairly may be insufficiently accounted for by current public choice approaches, a fact exemplified by French experience with nuclear power.

The Transportation of Soviet Energy Resources

Abstract: In this work the authors try to determine the general pattern of movement for each of the main forms of energy (gas, crude petroleum, refined products, coal and electricity), to identify constraints in the transport system that inhibit efficient flows, and to evaluate the prospects for future developments based upon this analysis of the system. The optimal flows and associated costs (in freight turnover terms) for each network are determined by applying the out-of-kilter algorithm, a network allocation model, to each abstracted energy-transport system.

Energy issues and policies in australia

Abstract: The authors attempt to demonstrate that the only significant policy response of the Commonwealth to the rises in energy prices in the past twelve years has been the Import Parity Pricing of indigenous crude oil in conjunction with the crude oil levy. As the world price of oil - and hence the price of Australian petroleum products - rose, the fall in coal's share of TE consumption in Australia was halted and reversed, and oil's share of TE consumption fell, while energy users substituted other fuels for oil, and exploration for new oil reserves accelerated. But is response to external events enough. They outline other measures the government has taken to augment energy supply, and the voluntary programs to reduce demand, especially for liquid fuels.

The politics of energy research and development

Abstract: The Politics of Energy Research and Development examines and evaluates U.S. research and development policies to promote nuclear, solar, conservation, and other technology options. This volume is the third in the series "Energy Policy Studies, "which explores fundamental, long-term social, political, and economic dimensions of energy technology, resources, and use. Contributions represent a wide range of theoretical and policy perspectives, including sociology, economics, political science, urban and regional studies, environmental analysis, and history and philosophy of technology. Contents: Richard L. Ottinger, "Introduction: The Tragedy of U.S. Energy RD Amor DEGREES B. Lovins, "The Origins of the Nuclear Power Fiasco"; Richard T. Sylves, "Nuclear Exotica: Peaceful Use of Nuclear Explosives"; Eugene Frankel, "Technology, Politics and Ideology: The Vicissitudes of Federal Solar Energy Policy, 1974-1983"; Maxine Savitz, "The Federal Role in Conservation Research and Development"; J. David Roessner, "Commercialization Issues in Energy Technology Policy"; John Byrne and Daniel Rich, "In Search of the Abundant Energy Machine"; and Grant P. Thompson, "Energy Policy in the Interim: Waiting for the Next Shoe to Drop."