As the days get colder heading into the fall and winter, you might see an increase in your energy bills. To help you better understand all things energy we reached into our GOOD archives to share with you our top energy-themed infographics. Take a look and learn everything from where our energy comes from (see above, a collaboration between GOOD and Other Means, with support from MTV) to how much the United States subsidizes energy.
What is the Easiest Way to Power a Lightblub?
A collaboration between GOOD and Column Five
How much energy—whether electric, coal, nuclear, or otherwise—is required for a 100-watt lightbulb to run for a year, 24 hours a day?
The Power of the Smart Grid
A collaboration between GOOD and Oliver Munday, in partnership with IBM
The "smart grid" is an electric system that includes information and communications technologies to turn the traditional “one-way” grid into a more dynamic “two-way” system. The point is to improve the way electricity gets distributed and used across the entire power grid, from where power is generated to our homes, and back again. A smart grid lets power companies and consumers see more about how power is being used—in near-real time. A study looked at exactly how beneficial a smart grid could be if we implemented it by 2030.
What Renewable Energies Do We Use Most and At What Cost?
A collaboration between GOOD and Deeplocal, in partnership with GE
In the U.S., only about 8 percent of all energy use comes from renewable sources. Petroleum is currently our largest consumed source of energy (37 percent), with natural gas (25 percent), coal (21 percent), nuclear power (9 percent) and renewables following behind.
However, renewable energy consumption is rising steadily, with the largest increases in biofuels, hydroelectric power, and wind. Check out this infographic for a look at which of these renewable sources are used most widely in America and at what cost.
How Much Does the United States Subsidize Energy?
A collaboration between GOOD and Deeplocal
The government spends billions of dollars to support the energy industry, which allows it to make energy cheaper than it should cost on the open market. These subsidies—either in the form of tax breaks or direct funding—favor some types of energy over others, giving our country a skewed sense of what each gallon of gas or wind-powered electron costs. This is a look at where the government directed its subsidy dollars from 2002 to 2008.
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