ABSTRACT
The United States is the largest user of energy in the world consuming about 26% of the energy resources available. The major source of this energy use is fossil fuels, in particular petroleum, which provides approximately 40% of the total followed by coal (23%) and natural gas (another 23%); the remaining 14% is made up of a mix of nuclear and hydroelectric power and other renewable
sources.1 As the United States moved from a rural and agricultural society in which wood and later coal were the energy mainstays to an urban and industrial society in which petroleum was king, the level of energy consumption increased significantly. The rise of an ever-growing consumer society with the accent on the acquisition of more and more petroleum-based products, especially the automobile, added to this demographic and economic shift.
