Myth: The United States Lags in Energy Efficiency

Matthew Wermers

Even Congress fell for this myth and in 2007 passed the Energy Independence and Security Act

This bill was 310 pages and the word “efficiency” appeared 331 times and the word “efficient” appeared 111 times.

Carbon intensity The amount of carbon dioxide per unit of

economic output, measured in metric tons of carbon dioxide per $1,000 of GDP

The Facts

China UK France USA Canada Brazil

-70.00%

-60.00%

-50.00%

-40.00%

-30.00%

-20.00%

-10.00%

0.00%

10.00%

20.00%

Change in Carbon Intensity of Ma-jor World Economies, 1980 to 2006

Energy Intensity The amount of energy needed to produce $1 of

gross domestic product

USA UK China Sweden Brazil

-80.00%

-60.00%

-40.00%

-20.00%

0.00%

20.00%

40.00%

Change in Energy Intensity of Major World Economies, 1980 to 2006

Why is this happening?1) America’s heavy labor has moved

overseas.

2) We are making products that are more efficient.

The problem We do see a problem though.

“Increasing efficiency merely paves the way for greater energy consumption”.

This means that energy efficiency should still be pursued but it will not be the answer to our increasing need for energy.

Summary “Over the past three decades or so, the

United States has been as good as or better then nearly every other developed country on Earth at improving its energy efficiency”.

Questions?