The Energy Efficient Economy Can Handle $112 Oil
Submitted by CARPE DIEM
Compared to the early 1970s, the U.S. economy is now twice as energy efficient, requiring only about 1/2 of the energy consumption per dollar of real GDP in 2007 (8.78 BTUs per dollar of real GDP) as in 1973 (17.44 BTUs per dollar of real GDP), according to data just released by the Energy Information Administration.
Bottom Line: The energy-efficient economy of today is much better able to absorb higher energy prices than in the past. Although high oil prices crippled the economy in the 1970s and early 1980s, and contributed to three serious recessions between 1973-1982, the energy-efficient Goldilocks Economy of the 21st Century just keeps humming along, recession-free.
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