Fossil fuel consumption United States

A projection of biomass energy consumption in the United States for the years 2000, 2010, 2020, and 2030 is shown in Table 6 by end use sector (12). This analysis is based on a National Premiums Scenario which assumes that specific market incentives are appHed to aU. new renewable energy technology deployment. The scenario depends on the enactment of federal legislation equivalent to a fossil fuel consumption tax. Any incentives over and above those in place (ca 1992) for use of renewable energy will have a significant impact on biomass energy consumption. 

Between 1992 and 1998, alternative fuels increased from less than 1 percent to more than 5 percent of total mass transit fossil fuel consumption in the United States (see Table 4). The share of alternative fuel consumption that was CNG increased from 19 percent to 72 percent over the same period. 

Atmospheric scientists have documented a steady rise in the concentration of atmospheric COj during the past half century, from about 315 ppm in 1958 to 390 ppm in 2012. During the same years, the rate of combustion of fossil fuels has increased proportionately to the rate of increase in CO concentrations. The correlation makes sense since burning coal, oil, and natural gas is a major source of CO. Unfortunately, societies in developed countries have become extremely dependent on fossil fuels as their major source of energy. In the United States, about 80 percent of all energy is derived from burning fossil fuels. Efforts are underway worldwide to try to reduce fossil fuel consumption. 

Production and consumption of commercially available fossil fuel, nuclear power, and hydroelectric power in the United States for the year 1992 is shown... 

On a uniform calorific value basis, coal constitutes 69% of the total estimated recoverable resources of fossil fuel in the United States. Petroleum and natural gas are about 7% and oil in oil shale, which is not as of this writing used as a fuel, is about 23%. The 1989 total recoverable reserves of coal are about 500 times the 1989 aimual production (2), whereas the reserves of oil and gas are smaller, the production and consumption rate of oil and gas in the United States is three times that of coal. 

Implementation of the 1998 Kyoto Protocol, which is designed to reduce global carbon emissions, will have dramatic effects on fossil fuel usage worldwide. The Kyoto Protocol mostly affects delivered prices for coal and conversion of plants to natural gas, nuclear and/or renewable resources. However, as pointed out by the International Energy Agency, increased natural gas consumption in the United States may likely have the effect of increased reliance... 

Unlike the gasoline tax that only impacts the transportation sector, carbon taxes affect all sectors of the economy. Implemented by some European countries and proposed in the United States by the Clinton Administration in 1993, the carbon tax makes consumption of fossil fuels more expensive for the energy user. The goals of a carbon tax are to reduce the consumption of energy and to make non-carbon emitting sources like wind and hydroelectric more cost-competitive with fossil fuels. 

Coprocessing is a technique that has been used in Europe, Japan, and the United States. It consists of transforming waste materials into alternative fuels and/or substitutes for raw materials. This enables reducing consumption of fossil fuels and helps preserve the environment. 

Long-range atmospheric transport of Hg from fossil fuel combustion and solid waste incineration has increased Hg in freshwater and biota. In the United States, combustion of fossil fuels for power generation is estimated to generate about 30% of the total release of Hg into the atmosphere (Harriss and Hohenemser, 1978). One in every three lakes in the United States and nearly one-quarter of the nation s rivers contain various pollutants, including Hg (CNN, 2004). Forty States in the U.S. have issued advisories for methylmercury on selected water-bodies, and 13 states have statewide advisories for some or all sportfish from rivers or lakes (USGS, 2000). Fish consumption advisories for methylmercury account for more than three-quarters of all fish consumption advisories. 

Trends in commercial fuel, eg, fossil fuel, hydroelectric power, nuclear power, production and consumption in the United States and in the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries, are shown in Tables 2 and 3. These trends indicate (6,13) (/) a significant resurgence in the production and use of coal throughout the U.S. economy (2) a continued decline in the domestic U.S. production of crude oil and natural gas leading to increased imports of these hydrocarbons (qv) and (5) a continued trend of energy conservation, expressed in terms of energy consumed per... 

Production and consumption of commercially available fossil fuel, nuclear power, and hydroelectric power in the United States for the year 1992 is shown in Table 2 (12). Coal production is most significant followed by natural gas and petroleum. Electricity generation and utilization patterns are shown in Table 4. Coal is overwhelmingly the most significant energy source used to generate electricity. 

Companies in the United States are increasingly concerned with the environmental effects of their energy consumption. In particular, more and more corporations are taking action to reduce their co2 emissions, both direct emissions from their on-site combustion of fossil fuels and indirect emissions from purchased electricity (that is, the co2 emitted by the power plants they buy power... 

Little use was made of the earth s capital energy until the nineteenth century, and now 5 to 8 percent of that resource may have been consumed. Yet even though most of the fossil fuels remain, there are increasing problems with their extraction and distribution and the pollution that is incidental to their use. The demand for energy is increasing as the world continues to industrialize. In 2002, the annual per capita consumption in the United States was 340 million Btus versus 190 million in Russia, 47.7 million in Brazil, and... 

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