ABSTRACT
Following an overview of research on the impact of future orientations on educational and occupational attainment (and aspirations), delinquency, family planning and other behaviors, the paper assesses available studies of natural resource consumption, individual and household energy consumption and conservation, and the like for evidence of a time-orientation effect. The age relationship documented in these studies is considered in terms of implicit temporal perspectives. Data from the author's household survey of solar adopters and near-adopters are utilized to test a presumptive relationship between future orientation and household decision making concerning solar hot water technology. Implications for policy research on natural resource consumption are discussed in a concluding note.
