To understand the energy problem, it is probably best to first understand what energy we use and where it comes from. The Department of Energy does a good job tracking energy usage, and has published their data in a series of Websites. Most interesting is the "Energy Flow" charts published at Lawrence Livermore National Labs.
Most interesting from these charts is how much of what we produce ends up as "loss." Nearly 2/3 of the energy produced ends up being lost in the transportation of that energy to an endpoint (heat dissipated in power lines, fuel moved by rail cars and trucks, etc).
Another key point is how little energy comes from alternative sources (i.e. solar and wind). Listed as "Biomass and Other", sources like solar and wind ,have a very small impact on total energy production.
So, what does this say? It may take a long time before solar and wind make up a sizable component of our fuel mix in the United States. It will be years....... Alternatively, reducing demand has a huge impact. Energy not used is energy that does not need to be produced, distributed or lost.
Hence the need for energy efficiency using devices, software and tools to help us improve our behavior and use less energy.
