Operation Brownout

It is fashionable to talk about the need to cut back sharply or even ration the use of energy -but what would that really be like? As both an experiment and a symbol, Wisconsin Senator Gaylord Nelson encouraged the 7,500 citizens of Burlington to dim their lights, turn down their thermostats and curb their cars for two days last week. The aim: to make Burlington "Energy Conservation City, U.S.A."

The outcome was disillusioning. A blizzard dumped nine inches of snow on the town, fanning the fires under furnaces and lighting up TV screens like so many firecrackers (schools were closed, and the kids had to do something). Few people were in the mood for walking or bicycling, and cars glutted downtown streets.

Ten families volunteered to use only half of their normal rate -that is, to return to average 1950 energy levels, occasionally with the help of kerosene lamps and charcoal grills. The Dennis Boyles and their four children had to turn down the heat from 72DEG to 65DEG on the first floor of their house, shut off the second floor, unplug electric clocks, radios and the refrigerator, turn off most lights and eat cold meals. As Mrs. Boyle put it, "What if we really had to live this way?" Even Mark Boyle, 17, an ecology buff, concluded that "this is just not practical. How long can a family go on like this?" In view of the trouble that Burlington had in trimming its energy wick back for two days, the question more properly is: How long can the country go on without taking some sensible steps to prevent energy waste and develop new sources?

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