The National Academies
What You Need To Know About Energy
As debates about energy grow more intense, Americans need dependable, objective, and authoritative energy information. The National Academies, advisers to the nation on science, engineering, and medicine, provide the facts about energy—a complex issue that affects us as individuals and as a nation.
Uses
Discover how the strength of American industry, speed of transportation, and countless modern conveniences all come from our ingenious use of energy.
Sources
The United States depends on a variety of energy sources. What advantages and challenges does each one present to our nation and its people?
Costs
Learn about the costs of our unprecedented standard of living—to the environment, to our national security, and to irreplaceable resources.
Efficiency
Increasing supply isn’t the only answer to a stable energy future. Discover how reducing demand through improved efficiency achieves the same effect.
Explore Other Topics
What do you know about energy?
Which of the following is not a primary energy source?
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Sorry, that’s incorrect.
Electricity is a secondary energy source because it can only be produced from the use of primary energy sources such as coal, natural gas, or nuclear reactions.
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Sorry, that’s incorrect.
Electricity is a secondary energy source because it can only be produced from the use of primary energy sources such as coal, natural gas, or nuclear reactions.
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Correct!
Electricity is a secondary energy source because it can only be produced from the use of primary energy sources such as coal, natural gas, or nuclear reactions.
-
Sorry, that’s incorrect.
Electricity is a secondary energy source because it can only be produced from the use of primary energy sources such as coal, natural gas, or nuclear reactions.
-
Sorry, that’s incorrect.
Electricity is a secondary energy source because it can only be produced from the use of primary energy sources such as coal, natural gas, or nuclear reactions.
Energy Defined
- Global Warming
A term used to describe the phenomenon of Earth’s rising average near-surface temperature. Although such fluctuations have occurred in the past due to natural causes, the term is most often used today to refer to current warming trends. Most scientists have concluded that this is very likely due to the observed increase in human-generated greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere.
Source Material
- America’s Energy Future: Technology and Transformation (2009)
- Real Prospects for Energy Efficiency in the United States (2010)
- Electricity from Renewable Resources: Status, Prospects, and Impediments (2009)
- Liquid Transportation Fuels from Coal and Biomass: Technological Status, Costs, and Environmental Impacts (2009)
- America’s Energy Future: Summary of a Meeting (2008)
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America's Energy Future (2009)
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