The major energy sources in the United States are petroleum (oil), natural gas, coal, nuclear, and renewable energy. The major users are residential and commercial buildings, industry, transportation, and electric power generators. The pattern of fuel use varies widely by sector. For example, oil provides 93% of the energy used for transportation, but only about 1% of the energy used to generate electric power. Understanding the relationships between the different energy sources and their uses provides insights into many important energy issues.

U.S. power plants used renewable energy sources — water (hydroelectric), wood, wind, organic waste, geothermal, and sun — to generate about 13% of our electricity in 2011.

The U.S. East Coast petroleum product market is undergoing fundamental changes from the standpoint of supply and demand. In addition to the announced idling and potential closure of several major refineries, a number of Northeastern states plan a transition to ultra-low sulfur diesel for heating oil use beginning with New York in the summer of 2012. This article provides an overview of EIA's recent analyses related to East Coast fuels markets.

Elizabeth Spencer

Earlier this week, Elizabeth talked about a study on how much energy the United States used in 2010 powering videogame consoles that weren't being used. But games aren't the only thing that's easy to leave on more than you need.

Do you have any tips for saving energy with your home electronics?

You have the chance to share your thoughts on a question about energy efficiency or renewable energy for consumers. Please comment with your answers, and also feel free to respond to other comments.

Elizabeth Spencer

For years, I bought light bulbs based on watts, or energy use. Like many light bulb consumers, I looked for a traditional 40, 60, 75, or 100 watt incandescent bulb. Now that stores today carry more and more energy efficient lighting choices, I wanted to replace my old incandescents with new bulbs to save energy and money on my electricity bill. But in shopping for the right bulb, I came across a challenge in looking for bulbs based on watts. Since these newer bulbs use less energy, I found bulbs that use 8, 15, or 26 watts. The wattages are pretty close to each other, but the brightness levels of each of these bulbs can vary a lot! Sound confusing? No worries. Read on, because there is a light at the end of this tunnel (pun intended)…

So, all I wanted to do was to find a light bright enough for my bathroom so I don't get cut shaving in the morning. I realized that the best way to shop for light was to look for the brightness, or lumens, of the bulb, instead of the watts. Lumens tell you how bright a bulb is, and are listed on the bulb packaging. More lumens mean brighter light. When replacing a 60-watt traditional bulb, you should look for a new bulb that gives you about 800 lumens.

The Energy Department has some informative resources to educate consumers on lumens. For example, check out our lumens placard and tip card. Or listen to some of our radio public service announcements. We have recently launched a billboard campaign effort to raise awareness of lumens in Nashville, Tennessee; Atlanta, Georgia; Phoenix, Arizona; Miami, Florida; Denver, Colorado; St. Louis, Missouri; Detroit, Michigan; and Milwaukee, Wisconsin—so be sure to look out for it if you're driving by those cities.

So, the next time you find yourself looking to replace your traditional incandescent with an energy efficient bulb, choose your next light bulb for the brightness you want and look for lumens—the new way to shop for light.

As for me? After looking for lumens instead of watts, I found an LED bulb for my bathroom that was about 800 lumens. The light quality was great for the bathroom, the color was warm white, and my electricity bill has gone down a lot compared to using the traditional incandescent.

John Chu is a Senior Communications Specialist at the U.S. Department of Energy.

Elizabeth Spencer

A couple of years ago, I wrote an incredibly nerdy post about videogame consoles and energy. (I'm still stupidly proud of that lame Castlevania reference in the first line. Seriously.)

Why, you might ask, am I bringing up my nerdiness again? Well, it's because I ran into this article on Ars Technica on energy and videogame consoles that cites a Carnegie Mellon study with surprising results: America used nearly 16 terawatt-hours of energy on videogames in 2010, and a good chunk of it was wasted.

In fact, the study assumed that 30% of all gamers left their consoles on 24/7.

That's just an estimate, of course. But when I wrote my post in 2010, I didn't even consider that angle. How wrong I was!

So if you are one of the approximately 30% of gamers who never turn their consoles off, you now have an easy way to save some money. According to the article, idling at your console's main menu uses nearly as much energy as playing a game.

For me, leaving the system on all the time doesn't seem worth it. The Xbox 360 starts up in less than a minute. I don't have a PS3, but I bet it's about the same.

And once your machines are off, you can start worrying about the energy they draw when they're not even on at all! But first thing's first, right?

Elizabeth Spencer is a communicator at DOE's National Renewable Energy Laboratory, which assists EERE in providing technical content for many of its websites.

Steven.Thai@Hq.Doe.Gov Secretary Chu Announces 68 Scientists to Receive Early Career Research Program Funding

Steven.Thai@Hq.Doe.Gov New Energy Efficiency Standards for Residential Clothes Washers and Dishwashers to Save Consumers Billions on Energy Bills

Steven.Thai@Hq.Doe.Gov DOE Announces Transfer of Depleted Uranium to Advance the U.S. National Security Interests, Extend Operations at Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant

Samina Iqbal, left, and Aria Daniel, two Sisters of Loretto nuns from Pakistan, were studying solar hot water installations last week at Solar Energy International, a nonprofit located at the Third Street Center in Carbondale.

Chinese workers examine solar panels at a manufacturer of photovoltaic products in Huaibei in central China's Anhui province.

The North American Development Bank has closed on a $65 million loan agreement with SunEdison that will be used toward the construction of a 20-megawatt solar park in Picture Rocks, Ariz. SunEdison will supply electricity to Tucson Electric Power over a 20-year period. The solar park will consist of hundreds of photovoltaic modules on a 250-acre lot owned by Tucson Water, a department of the City of Tucson. San Antonio-based NADB is a financial institution established and capitalized in equal parts...

We operate two geothermal energy facilities in Iceland, a geothermal energy plant in Nevada, British Columbia's largest run of river hydro facilities and the province's largest wind farm. Alterra Power Corp. (TSX: AXY) is pleased to announce that it... Alterra Power Acquires Wind Development Assets in British Columbia MarketWatch (press release) Alterra buys four wind farm projects Proactive Investors USA & Canada Alterra Power Purchases 1000 MW of Wind Power in British Columbia EnergyBoom Recharge all 26 news articles...

Sempra Energy will build the Auwahi Wind farm in southeastern Maui, Hawaii in collaboration with BP Wind Energy.

The only surefire products that the wind power industry is producing are unmet expectations and government subsidies. If wind farms were to survive based on their performance, there would be far fewer of them and far more eagles, hawks and other birds alive today.

Chinese coal miner may have survived being trapped underground for 17 days after a flood by eating straw bags.

A Chinese coal miner has been rescued after being trapped underground for 17 days by an underground flood that killed at least 10 others.

The Northwest is poised to become the country's leading coal-exporting region, but critics worry about one of the biggest impacts: increased greenhouse-gas emissions from burning U.S. coal in China.

The Energy Department has announced that more than one thousand fuel cells were deployed as a result of support from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

A group of Montana schools was named winner of the America's Home Energy Education Challenge, a national student competition designed to encourage students and their families to take action to start saving money by saving energy.

Eight automakers have demonstrated a fast-charging technology for electric vehicles (EV) that can recharge compatible systems in as few as 15 minutes.

(ATLANTA – May 18, 2012) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced today that soil cleanup at the Smalley-Piper Superfund Site in Collierville, TN is scheduled to start May 30, 2012. The soil cleanup is expected to be completed by August 2012. The cleanup is being funded by the EPA. Black & Veatch, an EPA contractor, will manage the cleanup performed by a team of subcontractors. EPA and the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC) will provide oversight

Media Advisory: EPA Promotes Development of Environmental Learning through a Partnership with Alabama State University Contact Information: James Pinkney, 404-562-9183, pinkney.james@epa.gov (ATLANTA – May 16, 2012) On Monday, May 21, 2012, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will enter into an agreement with Alabama State University to support campus greening and sustainability

Eighteen months after the state's environmental regulatory agency cast doubts on data provided by the company that monitors air quality in Texas City during a 40-day air emissions event from the BP refinery in 2010, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality acknowledges it was comfortable with the data after all.

Property owners along Michigan's Great Lakes shorelines no longer would need state permits to maintain their beaches under a bill awaiting a vote in the state Senate.

New Delhi, India – Tiger range countries in their first meeting to review efforts on doubling the number of wild tigers by 2022, reported significant progress, but recognized that urgent and elevated action is still needed to halt poaching.

“Steady progress is being made towards meeting the goal of doubling wild tiger numbers,” said Mike Baltzer, Leader of WWF’s Tigers Alive Initiative. “But tiger range governments must urgently and seriously step up action to eliminate poaching if they do not want their investments to go to waste.”

In November 2010 at the “Tiger Summit” in St. Petersburg hosted by the Government of Russia and the World Bank, the 13 Tiger Range Governments and partners committed to doubling the number of wild tigers by 2022 (TX2). They presented the Global Tiger Recovery Program (GTRP), which represents the plans towards meeting this goal.

The meeting in New Delhi, held from 15-17 May 2012, was the first time since the Tiger Summit that senior government officials from all 13 countries have met to review progress on implementation of the GTRP and plan the next steps.

Before the meeting, WWF released results of a preliminary assessment of 63 legally protected areas in seven tiger range countries that showed only 22, or 35%, maintain WWF’s minimum standards of protection. This indicated that tigers in most of the protected areas are still very vulnerable to poaching.

Poaching of tigers, to feed consumer demand for their body parts and products, is now the main factor reversing the gains made by governments, donors and other partners working towards the 2022 goal. Nearly all tiger range countries spoke of the poaching problem and efforts they are taking on the ground to tackle it. These include strengthening capacity and introducing new, innovative law enforcement monitoring tools, such as M-STrIPES and SMART, to better manage protected areas with tigers. They also considered new approaches to reduce consumer demand for tiger derivatives.  

“We are pleased that the approaches we recommended on demand reduction are being considered to support implementation of the GTRP,” said Sabri Zain, Director of Advocacy and Campaigns, TRAFFIC International. “It is critical that we implement new approaches to changing consumer behaviour if we are to successfully stem out poaching in the long run and therefore in achieving TX2.”

During the meeting, TRAFFIC also presented new figures from its latest research into the rising number of tiger part seizures taking place in Asia. With 53 seizures occurring each year, levels remain high. The analysis also identified persistent tiger trade hot-spots such as Kathmandu, Hanoi and the Russia/Northeast China border. It is essential that a tiger trade monitoring system be established as information such as this can assist enforcement efforts in the field where it is most needed.

In a sign indicating tiger range countries are increasingly working together to save the tiger across their borders, the meeting witnessed the signing of a bilateral agreement on trans-border cooperation between India and Nepal and another between India and Russia.

''This gathering of tiger range states shows that the momentum to save tigers is indeed building, but the pressure on the species continues,” said Ravi Singh, Secretary-General and CEO, WWF-India. “Coordinated anti-poaching measures across tiger range states are called for. These need to be scaled up and implemented urgently to achieve zero poaching."

WWF is supporting tiger range countries in their enforcement efforts through both training and helping to develop computer-based, law enforcement monitoring systems. It has also identified three actions tiger range governments can take immediately to launch an elevated operation towards Zero Poaching. These include identifying and delineating the most important sites requiring good protection from poaching, and ensuring these sites have sufficient numbers of enforcement staff who are well trained to monitor and improve their effectiveness by using monitoring systems. WWF also suggests that the police and judiciary need to help to ensure strict punishment on poaching and to actively engage local communities living adjacent to important tiger conservation areas.

For further information:

Soh-Koon Chng, WWF Tigers Alive Initiative, +65 9772 2552, skchng@wwf.org.my

Aarti Khosla, WWF-India, +91-98111-99288, akhosla@wwfndia.net

Dilpreet B. Chhabra, TRAFFIC India, +91-98990-00472, dchhabra@wwfindia.net

WWF and its partners are celebrating the first-ever Coral Triangle Day on June 9 at several locations around the Coral Triangle region to highlight the importance of marine conservation and to raise awareness on this global center of marine biodiversity.

An interpretation of World Oceans Day in this part of the world, the Coral Triangle Day brings together individuals, organizations, and establishments from different parts of the region on one special day to celebrate the beauty and uniqueness of this region and to promote the importance of oceans through varied activities including: beach clean-ups; sustainable seafood dinners; educational exhibitions; marine-themed bazaars; and beach parties.

“WWF, along with its partners are encouraging everyone to do one special thing, no matter how small, that will contribute to saving the Coral Triangle and let the world know how we care about it by sharing it on the Coral Triangle online platform www.thecoraltriangle.com/day,” says Dr Lida Pet-Soede, WWF Coral Triangle Programme Leader.

The Coral Triangle is a six million square-kilometer ocean expanse that contains the highest number of reef building corals on the planet. Its spectacular coral reefs systems are home to thousands of whales, dolphins, rays, sharks, and six of the world’s seven species of marine turtles.

Spanning across six countries in Asia and the Pacific including Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Timor Leste and Solomon Islands, the Coral Triangle is also a nursery ground for highly valuable tuna species and much sought-after reef fish species. It directly sustains the lives of more than 120 million people who heavily depend on marine resources for food and income.

However, coastal development, destructive fishing, overfishing, unsustainable tourism, the illegal harvest and trade of endangered species, and climate change, among many others, are taking a heavy toll on this fragile marine ecosystem.

The Coral Triangle Day, envisioned to be an annual, open-sourced event, hopes to empower individuals to take specific action to help protect and conserve this globally-significant marine ecoregion.

“This unprecedented event aims to build a critical mass of supporters for the Coral Triangle on different levels of society by using a fun and exciting way for people in this part of the world to learn more about the significance of oceans,” adds Pet-Soede.

Individuals, organizations, and establishments celebrating the Coral Triangle Day are encouraged to post their videos or photos on www.thecoraltriangle.com/day to show the world what they are doing for the oceans during this day and to help create a truly regional community of Coral Triangle supporters.

For more information on the Coral Triangle, visit www.thecoraltriangle.com. For more information on the Coral Triangle Day, visit www.thecoraltriangle.com/day

For further information:
Paolo P. Mangahas, Communications Manager, WWF Coral Triangle Programme, +603 7803 3772, pmangahas@wwf.org.my 

(Reuters) - After a decade of promise, advanced biofuels makers are entering a crucial make-or-break period with the first of a new generation of production facilities about to come on line.

GUATEMALA CITY (Reuters) - Guatemala's Fuego volcano belched burning lava and black ash into the sky early Saturday, leading the government to issue an airplane advisory and close sections of highway.