The United States uses 39% of the energy it produces, wastes 61%

[Scuba]

http://www.treehugger.com/slideshows/energy-policy/united-states-uses-39-energy-it-produces-wastes-61/

This graph produced by the Lawrence Livermore National Lab is no doubt one of my favorites (others are this graph that shows the rapidly falling cost of solar, and this one that shows all solar PV efficiency records since 1975). It gets updated yearly and shows all of the main energy sources in the U.S., what they are used for, and how much of that energy goes to useful work ("Energy services&quot and how much is wasted ("Rejected energy&quot .

It can seem a bit depressing at first to learn that more than half of the energy in the U.S. is being wasted, but we have to remember that the laws of physics will always prevent us from reaching 100% efficiency. But even taking that into account, there's still a huge low-hanging fruit to be harvested with measures that boost energy efficiency and cut waste. For the environment, it's often better to cut 1 watt of demand (1 negawatt) than to add 1 watt of renewable energy supply, and it often costs less too...

One thing to note is just how inefficient the transportation sector's use of petroleum is. By going electric, massive gains could be made in efficiency, but it would also allow transportation to run on cleaner sources of power as we add more renewable sources to the power grid (and even dirty sources would be used more efficiently than with the internal combustion engine).

[cantbeserious]

1. One Of Favorites As Well - Thanks For Sharing

eom

[lame54]

2. That sounds like us

[CFLDem]

3. God Bless Us!

[SammyWinstonJack]

4. USA! USA! USA!

[HoosierCowboy]

5. Fact: you have to waste energy

to be able to use it in the first place. An engine can only take heat from a higher temperature and reject it at a lower temperature in order to perform useful work.

Technology that enables us to re use that waste heat is one of the most profitable new technologies being developed presently.

[niyad]

6. thank you for sharing.

[mountain grammy]

7. Very interesting, thank you.

[hunter]

8. From my perspective anytime you drive a car...

... or buy useless crap, you are "wasting energy."

95% of this modern civilization is a waste of energy. It all ends someday as a peculiar layer of trash in the geologic record, without the civilization, maybe without humans.

Things that are not wasteful are rare commodities. Automobiles are wasteful, heirloom plants are not. Advertising and propaganda are wasteful, honest storytelling is not. War is wasteful, medicine is not...

[The2ndWheel]

9. If it's cheap, it's going to be wasted

If you want less waste, you have to make using whatever more expensive.

[Overseas]

10. One of the big reasons I oppose fracking. Reduce waste as much as possible first. Go solar as much

as possible first. Use wind as much as possible first.

Fracking, poisoning our water sources, should be a desperate last resort not a crazy mad rush like it is now.

[Scuba]

11. + Eighty Gazillion

[Overseas]

12. Glad you agree. Wish our legislators would see that clean water is a much more crucial resource long

term.

Gasland II was really illuminating with its pictures of how many hydraulic fracturing wells are being punched into our country. All over the place. Hundreds.

Should be a last resort.

Greening through installing best available conservation technologies should be a national project. As should other solar and wind projects which I'm glad have grown but should be

But it would create thousands of jobs and help the economy and unfortunately the GOP puts that above our national security. And the clean water our grandchildren will need.

[MisterP]

13. and how much of that transporation's just commuting?

and is that little "biomass" contribution to transit ethanol--or hay?

[Coyotl]

14. Add to this the amount of natural gas burned off into the atmosphere at well heads

just because there is a quick buck to be made pumping out the oil.