fossil-fuels

According to a 2012 report from the Congressional Research Service, “U.S. Energy: Overview and Key Statistics,” petroleum accounts for 40% of all U.S. energy consumption. As of 2010, petroleum was predominantly used for transportation (70.5%), followed by industrial (22.9%), residential (5.7%) and electricity generation (0.9%) uses.

According to a 2012 report from the Congressional Research Service, “U.S. Energy: Overview and Key Statistics,” energy consumption in the U.S. nearly tripled from 1950 to 2011. Over the same period, however, electricity consumption grew even faster, rising from 334 billion to 4,120 billion kilowatt hours — an increase of 1,134%.

Energy plays a central role in the U.S. economy, from transportation and manufacturing to agriculture, housing and beyond. The mix of power sources and uses are in constant flux, however, as indicated by a 2012 report from the Congressional Research Service, “U.S. Energy: Overview and Key Statistics.”

At the beginning of 2015 the average price of a gallon of gasoline in the United States stood at about $2.20, approximately $1.10 less than it had been a year earlier. In markets such as the Gulf Coast and the Midwest, it had fallen below $2 a gallon.

Car emissions account for half of the carbon monoxide pollution in the United States, one third of the nitrogen oxide pollution, and 10% of fine particulate matter emissions. Areas of heavy traffic congestion — which see concentrated emissions levels in the ambient air — are of particular concern, as previous research has linked such pollution with negative effects on fetal health.

In the study of economic development, there is a general consensus that public infrastructure investments supporting private sector-led economic activities are essential for growth. However, questions remain about how countries with newly found natural resources such as oil might best spend revenues on infrastructure and avoid the “resource curse” — the tendency of economies focused on such resources to see slower, and narrower, growth.