Energy conservation.

We can no longer afford to ignore the serious potential consequences of our lavish use of energy. Continuation of the present rate of increase, particularly with the trend to imported fuels, will lead in short order to a level of dependency on imports which is disturbing for both the national security and the balance of payments. The inevitable rise in the price of energy will presumably lead to some increases in the domestic energy supply. But our reserves, particularly in the preferred forms of petroleum, gas, and even low-sulfur coal, are finite. Thus, the energy problem must also be attacked from the standpoint of energy conservation. The forthcoming rise in fuel prices will, of course, make more attractive some forms of conservation which at present are economically marginal. Nevertheless, consumers, industry, and government will have to make difficult choices in the years ahead: between greater convenience and lower energy bills, between the high capital costs of energy conservation measures and the long-term dollar savings from increased energy efficiency, and between environmental protection and the availability of needed energy supplies. Existing capabilities and technology, on which short- and midterm improvements must be based, appear to offer substantial possibilities for reducing U.S. energy consumption within the next decade (11). Long-term solutions to the energy problem, however, will depend to a considerable extent on the continuing appearance of new technological capabilities for increased efficiency of ene...