1. Only 10% of energy in a light bulb is used to create light. Ninety percent of a light bulb’s energy creates heat.
2. Refrigerators in the U.S. consume about the same energy as 25 large power plants produce each year.
3. The amount of energy Americans use doubles every 20 years.
4. Approximately 30% of energy used in buildings is used inefficiently or unnecessarily.
5. American hospitals are some of the most energy-intense buildings on the planet.
6. In the United States, petroleum provides the most energy, more than coal, natural gas, or solar energy.
7. Food contains energy, which is measured in calories or joules
8. If a person yelled for 8 years, 7 months, and 6 days, he or she would produce enough energy to heat one cup of coffee
9. A hurricane releases 50 trillion to 200 trillion watts of heat energy. This is as much energy as a 10-megaton nuclear bomb exploding every 20 minutes.
10. More than 1/3 of the world’s crude oil is refined into gasoline. Other main products are distillate fuel oil (mainly diesel oil) and jet fuel (mainly kerosene).
11. The word “energy” comes from the Greek energeia, meaning operation, activity.
12. America burns nearly half of the world’s gasoline.
13. Albert Einstein defined energy as mass multiplied by the speed of light squared, or e=mc2.
14. Heating and cooling rooms use the most energy in American homes today.
15. China has taken over the U.S. as both the world’s largest CO2 emitter and the world’s largest energy consumer.
16. On a hot summer afternoon, California consumes the entire output of two large nuclear reactors pumping water.
17. Ten countries produce 2/3 of the world’s oil and hold the same percentage of known reserves. Saudi Arabia tops both lists.
18. From 2008 to 2030, world energy consumption is expected to increase more than 55%.
19. Enough sunlight reaches the earth’s surface each minute to satisfy the world’s energy demands—for an entire year.
20. According to the World Fact Book 2008, the world’s oil reserves will last until 2052 and gas reserves will last until 2065