Download Myth: The United States Lags in Energy Efficiency

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.
The Facts
Carbon intensity
 The
amount of carbon dioxide per unit of economic
output, measured in metric tons of carbon dioxide
per $1,000 of GDP
Change in Carbon Intensity of Major
World Economies, 1980 to 2006
20.00%
10.00%
0.00%
China
-10.00%
-20.00%
-30.00%
-40.00%
-50.00%
-60.00%
-70.00%
UK
France
USA
Canada
Brazil
Energy Intensity
 The
amount of energy needed to produce $1 of
gross domestic product
Change in Energy Intensity of Major World
Economies, 1980 to 2006
40.00%
20.00%
0.00%
USA
-20.00%
-40.00%
-60.00%
-80.00%
UK
China
Sweden
Brazil
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?