Energy Use in the USA

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Energy Use in the USA
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Energy Use in the USA

• The United States of America is the world's
  largest energy producer, consumer, and net
  importer of energy. How? Why?
• Trends in energy consumption
• Social explanations
• Current situation

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Top World Oil Consumers, 2006(thousand barrels
per day)?(www.EIS.gov)?
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Energy Consumption Total energy consumption per
capitaUnits Kilograms of oil equivalent (kgoe)
per personWorld Resources Institute Earth Trends
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History of US energy use by source (quadrillion
BTU)?
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Attitudes towards energy use

• The American Dream
• Environmentalism
• Responsible Consumerism

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The American Dream

• Current concept has roots in 1950's
• Any one can make it - regardless of background
• House in the suburbs, two cars

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• Electricity consumption by 107 million U.S.
  households in 2001 totaled 1,140 billion kWh. The
  most significant end uses were central
  air-conditioning and refrigerators, each of which
  accounted for about 14 percent of the U.S. Total.
  (

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The automobile

• 84 of travel in USA by car
• Fuel efficiency has not traditionally been
  important to American consumers
• SUV's

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Passenger vehicles in the US

• According to the US Bureau of Transit Statistics
  for 2004 there are 243,023,485 registered
  passenger vehicles in the US

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Fuel consumption of US cars(www.bts.gov)?
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Environmentalism

• Modern environmentalism began in 1962 with Rachel
  Carson's Silent Spring
• Anti-pollution legislation
• Post-environmentalism?

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Pollution

• 1963 Clean Air Act
• 1990 amendment to the clean air act began
  system of carbon trading.
• 1997 The US signs the Kyoto protocol -but never
  ratifies the treaty
• Some state and local governments have

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Acquisitions of alarmism

• The greatest hoax in history
• According to one poll about 64 of Americans
  think that scientists disagree about whether
  global warming is happening (they don't)?

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A convenient approach
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The environmental consumer

• Save the environment without sacrificing quality
  of life
• New energy-saving appliances, light bulbs
• Carbon offsets
• Hybrid cars
• Supporting green companies

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Energy per dollar of GDP/PPP