Modern society consumes vast quantities of energy; it is a crucial part of the infrastructure and maintenance of society in almost all countries. Every day, energy is harnessed and used to perform our common activities in homes, businesses, industry, and for personal travel and transporting goods. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, the United States is a leader among the nations in energy consumption, using nearly 19 percent of the world’s total primary energy.

The major energy sources in the U.S. are petroleum (oil), natural gas, coal, nuclear and renewable energy. Oil provides 93 percent of the energy used for transportation, but only about 1 percent of the energy used to generate electric power. With approximately 5 percent of the world’s population, the U.S. is a powerful user of petroleum, responsible for roughly 25 percent of annual global oil consumption, and has a per-person daily consumption rate of more than double the rates of the European Union, according to 2008 estimates.