Energy implications of an aging population

Abstract

This study provides various demographic, medical, and economic information relative to energy usage on a segment of the population, the elderly, which is growing in absolute numbers and relative population percentage. This growth is expected to continue well into the twenty-first century. The US aging population numbered 3.1 million in 1900, and by 1977 it had climbed to 23.5 million. It can be stated with reasonable certainty that this figure will rise to 31 million in the year 2000 and 43 million in the year 2020. These figures, corresponding to more than 10% of our population, are by no means insignificant. As our fossil-fuel reserves are being depleted and the cost of energy mounts, it becomes apparent that the elderly will become increasingly vulnerable to the energy crisis, primarily beause of their physical tendency to infirmity, their economic and social situation, and their susceptibility to psychological depression. This white paper concentrates on those aspects of aging and the nation's energy problem which are not usually related in our everyday consideration of these as separable problems. It seeks to identify the peculiar energy problems of the aged and to consider alternatives in the solution of these problems in light of modernmore » technology. « less

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