fossil fuels | AEIdeas

Wednesday, May 22, 2013

The chart above shows annual fossil fuel production in the U.S. from 1947 to 2012 based on data from the Department of Energy (here and here). After rising above 56 quadrillion BTUs for the first time in 1969, domestically produced fossil … read more >

Carpe Diem

Tomorrow’s energy will be the same as yesterday’s energy: Low-cost coal, oil and natural gas, not renewables

Mark J. Perry | April 5, 2013, 4:36 pm

The chart above shows Department of Energy forecasts for the shares that various fuel sources will provide of our total energy consumption out to the year 2040. Even 27 years from now in the year 2040, the government estimates that … read more >

Carpe Diem

Matt Ridley: Burning fossil fuels is greening the planet

Mark J. Perry | March 13, 2013, 7:55 pm

In the Reason.tv video above, Matt Ridley, author of the The Rational Optimist, talks about a curious global trend that is just starting to receive attention. Over the past three decades, our planet has actually gotten greener. Reason? Matt Ridley explains that it’s because … read more >

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Carpe Diem

According to government forecast, abundant and reliable fossil fuels will supply 80% of U.S. energy demand in 2040

Mark J. Perry | December 5, 2012, 8:04 pm

The Department of Energy released it Annual Energy Outlook today for 2013, with updated estimates of U.S. energy consumption by fuel source out to the year 2040 in Table A1 of the report (data here) . Based on the government … read more >

Carpe Diem

Hurricane Sandy illustrates the importance of fossil fuel energy to our economy, both now and for decades to come

Mark J. Perry | November 9, 2012, 9:49 am

In yesterday’s Wall Street Journal, Manhattan Institute fellow Robert Bryce used Hurricane Sandy to illustrate the importance of fossil fuels (especially oil and gasoline) to the recovery and to the overall U.S. economy (and the relative unimportance of wind and … read more >

Carpe Diem

To understand the revolution in modern energy, we should first understand something about horsepower

Mark J. Perry | November 8, 2012, 11:13 pm

In the AEI “Energy 101″ video above featuring Ken Green, we learn that the first energy breakthrough for humans after the discovery of fire was the harnessing of horsepower. But horsepower is limited because 200 horses can’t gallop 60 mph … read more >

Economics, Energy and the Environment

Energy fact of the week: Oil and gas growth thump renewables

Steven F. Hayward | May 31, 2012, 10:26 am

One of the oldest misleading statistical tricks is to cite percentage growth from a low base. For example, if the units of something produced go from 1 to 2, that’s 100 percent growth! But if you go from 100 units … read more >

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