The reality is chasing sunlight to get work finished and not having electricity consistently available is not out of the norm for the rest of the world. 17 percent of the world’s population currently lives without electricity. That is almost unimaginable for the majority of Americans because, as a nation, the U.S. uses 25 percent of the world’s energy and only makes up 5 percent of the world’s population. The U.S. has one of the highest energy per capita rates in the world.
The United States does not only use tremendous amounts of energy, but it also does so inefficiently ranking very low on the ACEEE’s (American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy) energy efficiency scorecard; doing better than just a few nations (Mexico, Brazil, and Russia). South Carolina is a very energy-intensive state ranking 19 out of the 50 states in highest energy consumption and is the number one energy consumer per capita on the east coast.
There are nations that use energy much differently than Americans. Introducing renewable energy into the system, modifying structures and systems to be more efficient, and ultimately reducing the amount of energy consumed; some nations have made great strides in energy efficiency. Philipp Ackermann, the deputy chief of mission at the German embassy in Washington made a great point about Germany’s exceptional energy efficiency by stating, “I think – the cheapest energy is the energy you don’t have to produce in the first place.”
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