NRDC’s First Annual Energy and Environment Report, America’s (Amazingly) Good Energy News, is the product of an exhaustive analysis of extensive new government data that shows total U.S. energy use in 2012 was below the 1999 level even though the economy grew by more than 25 percent (adjusted for inflation) during that period. As a result of national energy efficiency measures, Factories and businesses are producing substantially more products and value with less energy, the amount of gasoline per mile driven is down, and the cost of all energy services (from lighting to refrigeration) also has decreased.
The report notes that the amount of climate-warming carbon dioxide pollution also is down, putting the nation on track to meet President Obama’s emissions reduction target of 17 percent over the next seven years, though much more must be done to avoid the worst effects of climate change.
