How Does Population Growth Contribute to Rising Energy Consumption in America? Allan Mazur Syracuse University The contribution of American population growth to rising energy consumption is analyzed for the period 1947-91. Energy consumption is disaggregated into elec- tricity and nonelectricity consumption, and by end-use sectors: residential and commercial, industrial, and transportation. Population growth has been relatively unimportant as a contributor to yearly fluctuations in energy consumption. How- ever, whereas energy changes induced by nonpopulation factors are erratic, some- times adding consumption and sometimes subtracting, population growth consis- tently adds to consumption. As a result, depending upon which energy sector is considered, population growth may have a dominant role in the Iongterm growth of consumption. Currently there is considerable debate over how important population growth is compared to other causes of rising resource consumption and pollution. Much argument focuses on whether or not population is the primary driver and seems to have reached a dead end (Mazur, 1991). To move ahead it is worthwhile examining in detail the experience of the United States, the dominant economy in the world and one with relatively good data on population and resource consumption. Here I estimate how population growth, compared to other factors, has contributed to rising American energy consumption since World War II (Figure 1). Please address correspondenceto Dr. Mazur, Public Affairs Program, The Maxwell School, SyracuseUniversity,Syracuse,NY 13244. Population and Environment:A Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies Volume 15, Number 5, May 1994 9 1994 Human SciencesPress,Inc. 371