THE SPATIAL-ORGANIZATION OF NATURAL-RESOURCE USE - ECONOMIC GEOGRAPHIC ASPECTS

The author examines changes in the character of raw material and energy use in the European USSR over the period 1960-1985. In spite of modest reductions in resource consumption per unit of output, a basically "extensive' pattern of resource use persists, along with attendant negative environmental impacts and social problems. These problems are elaborated and an interesting discussion of Soviet East-West economic relations is presented, along with the argument that the stability demonstrated over time in the structure of resource consumption, far from being positive, reflects the entrenchment of this "extensive' economy. -Journal summary