Issue 64: Energy and environment – The inseparable concerns

In the 1970s, energy problems and environmental issues seemed to alternate in importance—or prominence. The peak years of the energy crisis, in the public's perception, were 1973-74 and 1979. Environmental awareness probably peaked in 1970 and 1976. Even if the precise pattern is not so readily discerned over the entire decade, the impression remains that there was some kind of cyclical rhythm in these affairs by year or by season—peaks and troughs of intensity in the way the public thought about the future of the planet's resources.

A closer look suggests another impression, too—a convergence of the energy and environmental trends over the years. By the end of the decade they appear almost superimposed. One could hardly talk about one without considering the other. Like a free association test, mention of “coal” brought “air pollution” and “the greenhouse effect” to mind. Mention of “toxic substances” brought “nuclear power” to mind, as well as chemical dumps. Energy policy and environmental policy—each complicated enough by itself—became increasingly entangled. In a major study, Energy in America's Future, RFF made a bold effort in 1979 to put all the pieces together and, at the very least, demonstrated that the two sets of issues cannot be addressed separately.

That the two issues are also tightly bound up with economic and national security policy has become equally clear. Policy making in the 1980s, therefore, is likely to become more complicated, not less, as the articles in this annual highlights issue of Resources will help confirm.