1. Myth: The United States Lags in Energy Efficiency Matthew Wermers

2. Even Congress fell for this myth and in 2007 passed the Energy Independence and Security Act This bill was 310 pages and the word “efficiency” appeared 331 times and the word “efficient” appeared 111 times.

3. Carbon intensity  The amount of carbon dioxide per unit of economic output, measured in metric tons of carbon dioxide per $1,000 of GDP The Facts

4. Energy Intensity  The amount of energy needed to produce $1 of gross domestic product

5. Why is this happening? 1) America’s heavy labor has moved overseas. 2) We are making products that are more efficient.

6. The problem  We do see a problem though. “Increasing efficiency merely paves the way for greater energy consumption”.  This means that energy efficiency should still be pursued but it will not be the answer to our increasing need for energy.

7. Summary  “Over the past three decades or so, the United States has been as good as or better then nearly every other developed country on Earth at improving its energy efficiency”.

8. Questions?