Conservative Approach to Energy Resources Development

The realization that the world's major energy resources are finite came to most of the American people only two years ago as a result of the Arab oil embargo, which caused severe gasoline and other fuel shortages. Civil engineers are responsible for enormous energy consumption. In transportation planning, building construction, environmental control, water resources management and planning, and land use, they commit a tremendous amount of human, energy, and material resources. They bear a great responsibility for using these resources in the best interests of our society. The next generation of civil engineers will have to cope with the problems of providing for the real needs of society in the face of decreased energy availability or increased energy costs.