Many forecasts show industrial energy use growing rapidly in industrial countries. These forecasts do not adequately take into account the diminishing importance of basic materials use in the economies of mature industrial societies, the emerging shift of production based on virgin materials to...

Because of ongoing structural shifts to less energy-intensive activities in the economy and opportunities to make more efficient use of energy, it is technically and economically feasible to reduce U.S. per capita energy use by a factor of two while per capita GNP doubles, 1980–2020. Pursuit...