Waste not want not – U.S. could power U.K. for 7 years with annual wasted energy

The Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), a premier research and development institution for science and technology funded by the United Sates Department of Justice, recently published an alarming report revealing that, in 2012, the U.S. wasted 61% of its economy’s total energy!

To put that number in perspective – that’s enough energy to power the entire United Kingdom for 7 years!

That 39% efficiency rating is hardly efficient. Last year, approximately 95 quadrillion British Thermal Units (BTUs) of raw energy were funneled into the U.S. economy. Of those, only 37 quadrillion BTUs were used.

Back in the 1970s, the U.S. economy was an example of efficiency, using 31.1 quadrillion BTUs while managing to only waste 30.6 quadrillion. But since, the economy’s annual energy efficiency has been on a slippery slope as consumption habits and fuel usages go untamed.

From internal combustion engines in cars to monstrous power plants, technological advancement has been erratically inefficient. As our dependence on such conveniences grows, the economy suffers. Some experts have even come out and said that the U.S.’s reported 39% efficiency number is kind, at best. Physicist Robert Ayres believes it should be closer to 14%.

The LLNL has spent the past decade analyzing the U.S.’s wasteful habits, during which the country’s efficiency rating has teetered between 50 and 58%. In 2012, however, that number spiked to one of the worst recorded levels in history.

The spike can be attributed to changes in the ways home and vehicle energy efficiencies are evaluated. It’s tougher to meet standards these days, and authorities are cracking down.

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