US using less energy for transport

Energy consumption by transport has dropped in the United States due to a combination of more fuelefficient vehicles and fewer miles travelled. According to a new report on carbon dioxide emissions released by the US Energy Information Administration, transportation sector emissions in 2012 remained well below the comparable level for 2007. Overall, carbon emissions by all sectors in the US during 2012 were at their lowest level since 1994, and over 12% below the recent 2007 peak, according to the report. Energy-related carbon dioxide emissions have declined in five out of the last seven years. “After the residential sector, the next biggest decline in energy consumption was in the transportation sector (513 trillion Btu) or 22% of the total energy decline,” it says. In addition to switching to smaller and more fuelefficient vehicles, Americans are travelling less. Vehicle miles travelled in 2012 were flat compared to 2011 (8,072 million miles per day in both years). This was a decline of 3.3% over the number of miles travelled in 2007. Energy consumption fell by 2.4 quadrillion Btu in 2012 despite a 2.8% growth in gross domestic product, and a population growth of 0.7%.