In the March 8 editorial "Power structure," The Tribune correctly
summarized part of the power dilemma in our part of the world. Power plants in
Nevada mean more energy for California, economic development for Nevada and
dirtier air for Utah. But there is more to the story. What we need to keep in mind is that Californians are not unusually greedy
consumers of energy. In fact their per-person energy use has been stable, if not
declining, for decades. Californians have a state energy office and policies
which encourage the conservation effort called for in the editorial.
Californians use less energy per capita than most Americans. The state requires
ever more energy because California's population is growing rapidly. More people
need more energy even if they use it efficiently. The lesson here is that reducing individual energy consumption is not very
likely to diminish our need for more energy production as long as our population
increases. You wisely suggest a big-picture approach. The really big picture
must include bringing population growth into the discussion. Ann O'Connell Holladay