Energy Costs 



World oil prices are projected to Increase to $42 per barrel (1986 dollars) in 2040. As 

 oil prices increase, energy consumers are projected to lean more heavily on electric- 

 ity, coal, and renewable energy sources (including wood). Electric power production is 

 projected to shift more to coal, natural gas, and renewable energy sources. The effect 

 of increasing fossil fuel prices on forest products industries will be moderated by 

 these shifts to alternate fuels and improvements in efficient energy use. Energy costs 

 influence wood use projections primarily through projections of fuelwood use. 



Capital Availability 



Future supplies will be determined largely by management intensity (the level of 

 investment in forests and rangelands and associated water resources). In general, 

 demand and supply projections are strongly influenced by the past historical trend of 

 their basic determinants and reflect the effects of past public programs for manage- 

 ment assistance. 



The basic assumption of a growing economy implies capital generation. Therefore, 

 we assume that capital will not be a limiting factor for projected outputs of products 

 from forest and rangelands and associated water. 



Issue Highlight— 

 International 

 Demensions of U.S. 

 Forestry 



There is growing interest in the international dimensions of forestry (fig. 17). A global 

 forest agreement, biodiversity, sustainable development, and plantation forestry are 

 examples of the issues being discussed. Development of a U.S. position on these 

 kinds of issues has been difficult because of a lack of perspective on the U.S. renew- 

 able resource situation relative to other countries' situations. We initiated a study to 

 review existing information about international dimensions of U.S. forestry (Brooks, 

 1993). 



Figure 17 — Measures of international dimensions of U.S. forestry. 



Percent of World Total 



Forest area 



Private forest area 



Forestry research 



Resource Management 



Reserved areas 



Timber inventory 











20 









40 



40 



25 



26 



