Our blog features brief essays, op-eds, and Q&As that cover a wide variety of energy and environmental topics. Each entry is written by researchers from around Penn State, including faculty members and graduate students.
What’s the hype about 5.8%? I’m worried about the other 94.2%
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A recent analysis by the International Energy Agency (IEA) concluded that annual carbon emissions declined by 5.8% in 2020 because of the COVID-19 global pandemic. From a historical perspective, a 5.8% reduction is huge—nothing like it has occurred in our lifetimes. But from a COVID-19 perspective, how can it be so small?
How much energy we use in the US to produce electricity is a secret
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The US Energy Information Agency (EIA) publishes monthly and yearly listings on energy use to make electricity, and it is readily accessible on the internet. So why am I saying that the amount of energy used is a secret? It is the way that the EIA presents the numbers. The EIA says extra energy is used to make renewable electricity in the same proportion as electricity generation in a fossil fuel plant, but that is not correct. No extra fuels are consumed to produce renewable electricity.