by TonyPrep » Sat 12 Jul 2008, 17:29:03
$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('kublikhan', 'S')orry Tony, but you've knocked nothing on its head....
Drat, I thought I had. After all, consumption per household went up, not down. Oh well.
The (rebound) effect is not as profound as I thought it would be, but I found figures for consumption (I think). Finished gasoline figures are from
the EIA and population figures are from
Nation Master.
1981 pop 229m gas 2.40 bp barrels per capita 10.48
1986 pop 240m gas 2.56 bp barrels per capita 10.69
1991 pop 253m gas 2.62 bp barrels per capita 10.37
1996 pop 269m gas 2.89 bp barrels per capita 10.72
I couldn't figure out which of the products in the EIA data was diesel, but going just with gasoline, it looks like the increases in efficiency had some effect up to 1991, but per capita consumption was back up above the 1986 level by 1996. But it's interesting that, even with a recession in the middle, consumption went up between 1981 and 1986, with efficiency effects actually kicking in after that, for a while.
So, during that 15 year period, consumption, per capita, went up, not down.