Was Growth of Energy and Electricity Usage in Industrial Nations Due More to Population Growth or to Other Causes?

Looking across the world's nations, the principle determinants of energy consumption are population size and affluence (York et al. 2003; Ward 2006; Rosa et al. 2009). In the imagery of New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman, the world's resource problem is not due simply to too many people, but to too many people living a high-consumption “American” lifestyle (2008). The relative importance of these drivers has been a perennial point of contention, with neo-Malthusians giving most weight to population growth while others like Friedman emphasize our culture's extravagant use of energy.