Energy Policy: Should the focus be on production or conservation?

Electricity blackouts in California, skyrocketing heating bills and the likelihood of higher gasoline prices this summer are raising concerns about energy supplies. The Bush administration says the nation faces an "energy crisis" and calls for boosting domestic supplies of oil, coal and natural gas and building new nuclear power plants. Critics say that focusing more on increasing supply than on reducing demand would only worsen pollution and threaten sensitive habitat while discouraging conservation and a greater reliance on environmentally benign, renewable energy sources, such as solar and wind. But supporters of the president's supply-side energy policy suggest that growth in energy demand is inevitable if Americans are going to maintain and improve their standard of living. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]