Abstract

In this article, the authors discuss several aspects of the energy situation in the U.S., that has appeared after the gasoline shortage of 1973 and the natural gas shortage during 1977, and related consequences with energy policies initiated by the U.S. Federal Energy Administration. The authors share a major concern about new government intrusions into an area where higher energy prices would lead the private sector into making many of the changes the acts now mandate, but in a more efficient and less costly manner. Based on several research papers and published articles on energy situation, it is suggested that the cost of energy is but one of many associated with product manufacture, ownership, and operation. It is emphasized that energy costs to the exclusion of others may result in inefficient actions by manufacturers, distributors, and consumers. Inefficiencies caused by an improper weighting of a product's costs and benefits may supposedly result in a decrease in the economy's potential for satisfying the needs and desires of every individual.