What You Need To Know About Energy
Our Energy Sources
Fossil Fuels
The United States gets 81% of its total energy from oil, coal, and natural gas, all of which are fossil fuels. We depend on those fuels to heat our homes, run our vehicles, power industry and manufacturing, and provide us with electricity. Eventually, the degree to which we depend on fossil fuels will have to decline as the planet’s known supplies diminish, the difficulty and cost of tapping remaining reserves increase, and the effect of their continued use on our planet grows more critical. But shifting to new energy sources will take time. In the meantime, how do we use fossil fuels in the most efficient and environmentally responsible way possible?
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Energy Hands-on
Understanding Efficiency
Learn the significance of energy efficiencyThe Promise of Better Lighting
Energy savings through lighting technologyOur Energy System
A visualization of all our energy sourcesEnergy Defined
- Biofuels
Liquid fuels typically derived from harvested plant material, used primarily for transportation. These are different from fossil fuels, which are derived from transformed organic material residing in the Earth’s crust for millions of years.
National Academies
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