What You Need To Know About Energy
The Cost of Energy
Energy use can carry a hefty price tag—and not just in money. The cost to our environment, to national security, and to the prospect of future sustainability is sometimes hard to calculate in dollar terms, but nonetheless very real in practical terms. What factors should we consider as we make decisions about energy options for the future?
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A visualization of all our energy sourcesEnergy Defined
- Climate Change
The process of shifting from one prevailing state in regional or global climate to another. Often used interchangeably with “global warming,” scientists sometimes also use the term to refer to periods of climatic cooling. Climate change is typically the preferred term over “global warming” because it helps convey that there are climate changes in addition to rising temperatures.
National Academies
Search the National Academies Press website by selecting one of these related terms.
Source Material
- America’s Energy Future: Technology and Transformation (2009)
- Electricity from Renewable Resources: Status, Prospects, and Impediments (2010)
- Liquid Transportation Fuels from Coal and Biomass: Technological Status, Costs, and Environmental Impacts (2009)
- Assessing Economic Impacts of Greenhouse Gas Mitigation: Summary of a Workshop (2009)
- Coal: Research and Development to Support National Energy Policy (2007)
- Energy Research at DOE: Was It Worth It? Energy Efficiency and Fossil Energy Research 1978 to 2000 (2001)
- Novel Approaches to Carbon Management: Separation, Capture, Sequestration, and Conversion to Useful Products-Workshop Report (2003)
