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June 8, 2005
Not apples to oranges
The folks over at Treehugger are praising Japan for its high energy efficiency. But Japan has 4.1% of the land of the US and 43.1% of the population, so doesn't high density living give them much of their 300% higher energy per $1 of economic output for free? The dwellers New Yorker City are the most energy efficient New Yorkers because they live stacked upon one another, they walk and take public transpiration to work and shop, and they have small families and homes. But this behavior is a side effect of living in NY, not a deliberate policy. I bet the Americans living in comparable living arrangements have similar energy consumption.
With a much less aggressive regulatory regime the US has made its economy far less energy intensive, reducing US energy consumption per unit of GDP by more than 40% since 1973.
That said, Japan is using expensive, new technology and a national advertising campaign to get to even lower energy consumption, so at least going forward, the state can claim some credit.
Posted by OneEyedMan at June 8, 2005 1:19 PM
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Well, yeah, Japan is denser.. But it also has to import pretty much everything it uses.. So it has some advantages and some disadvantages.
But I think that if we look at, f.ex, japanese car makers that have factories in the US; they are all more efficient than the factories from US companies in the US. So it's not just about the particular conditions in japan.
Posted by: Mikhail Capone ![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.belligerati.net/nav-commenters.gif)
at June 8, 2005 1:43 PM
Mikhail,
I have no idea if Japanese factories in the US are more energy efficient than American ones are. But, it wouldn't surprise me, as energy costs money and they seem to make a lot more money making cars than GM and Ford do.
Your point about importing resources is a good one. The amazing thing about Japan is that four resource barren rocks with a landmass the size of California can manage to sustain a first world economy. Japan has its own problems, but high density and efficiency living, combined with excellent schools and good government seems to make up for most of them.
Posted by: TheOneEyedMan at June 9, 2005 8:47 AM
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