What does the future hold?
- 90% of the electricity in the US is generated by the use of three fuels: coal, natural gas, and nuclear
- Roughly 72% of the electricity used in the US is generated by fossil fuels alone
- ONLY 7% of the electricity generated in the US currently comes from renewable resources
Nearly all by-products of combustion emissions have serious negative impacts on the environment and health including CO2, NOx, and SOx. Researchers say that atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) may be the main culprit of asthma rates almost doubling since 1984.**
In 2007 alone, US generators and combined heat and power facilities created 2,517 MILLION METRIC TONS OF CARBON DIOXIDE EMISSIONS.
The natural gas-fired generation has almost doubled since 1996, increasing from 455 million MWh to 897 million MWh, and accounting for 21.6 percent of total generation in 2007. *
Annually, over half of the oil and petroleum products consumed in America* or approximately 12 million barrels of crude a day, come from abroad. This equates to the consumption of more than 600 gallons for every man, woman, and child, per year.
The U.S. government projects that the level of imports will only continue to rise, reaching between 16 and 21 million barrels per day, by 2025 ***
* Source: Energy Information Administration
**Source: Todd Zwillich, Web MD
*** Source: ‘Over a Barrel’; John Duffield; Stanford University Press