Even though renewables are expanding rapidly, the percentage of energy<\/strong> we get from fossil fuels hasn\u2019t changed<\/strong> that much over the years. After declining a bit a decade ago due to high prices, oil consumption<\/strong> in the U.S.<\/strong> has once again been on the rise<\/strong> (excepting last year\u2019s pandemic-related collapse).<\/p>\n The U.S. has seen a drastic decline in coal consumption<\/strong> over the past decade (but global coal consumption has risen) as it has been displaced in the power sector<\/strong> by natural gas primarily<\/strong>, as well as renewables. As a result, natural gas consumption<\/strong> has increased by nearly 40%<\/strong> over the past decade in the U.S.<\/strong><\/p>\n Meanwhile, most people still rely on the local service<\/strong> station for fuel for their cars<\/strong>, and they rely on their local utility to power their homes<\/strong> and businesses<\/strong>. There are occasional exceptions, but generally<\/strong> when we need energy<\/strong> we can count on it. Fossil fuels, despite their negative environmental<\/strong> aspects, are reliable<\/strong> and available at large scale.<\/strong><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.enerjigazetesi.ist\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/biden-in-enerji-planiyla-birlikte-devraldigi-riskler.jpg\")
Two key issues<\/strong> are scale and reliability. Most people drastically underestimate our ongoing dependence on fossil fuels. According to the latest BP Statistical Review<\/strong> \u2014 which is the “bible”<\/strong> of energy statistics \u2014 in 2019<\/strong> fossil fuels supplied 83.3%<\/strong> of our energy in the U.S.; nuclear power supplied another 8.0%<\/strong>. Renewables, including hydropower, just 8.7%.<\/strong><\/p>\n