National Academies Presents: What You Need to Know About Energy (nas.edu)

Sankey Visualizations was a really well displayed and organized site not only explaining what Energy sources are, what it means, and how we can better improve the American Energy Standard. “The energy choices we make shape not only our quality of life, but the health of the environment, how we work and play, the strength of our economy, and our national security”. This site has different links (tabs) the viewer can click on to toggle between How we use our Energy, Energy Sources, The cost, and Energy Efficiency. I drew arrows below on the screenshot to indicate which tabs I am referring to.

Then it breaks down even further how the Energy we use correlates from where it comes from and into percentages as well. Residentual and commercial ( aka our homes and work palces) accounts for 40% of energy consumed in the US according to a 2015 record. Transportation consumes about 28% and us Americans sure do like to Go Go Go. Then the third breakdown goes to Industry which accounts for 32% of energy.

The most significant section of this site is the “Cost of Energy” link. At first I thought it was going to show information about what Energy is taking from the American pocket since it is well known that we use so much of it. This is more focused on stressing the fact that we as human beings are deplesting our source of energy from the Earth faster than we are replacing it. We are using up our plant and fossil fuels more and more as time goes on. “At present, oil accounts for 36% of total energy consumption in the United States. Coal provides 18% and natural gas provides 29% of our energy. Another 9% comes from nuclear power plants. Renewable energy sources round out the roster, accounting for 10% of consumption—mostly as the result of hydropower  investments made in the past century and the use of biomass (organic matter such as wood, municipal waste, and agricultural crops) for fuel and electricity production”.

It is clear that we need Energy sources to continue on living, but this will not be the case if we continue living the way we are. Changes need to be made. And changes need to be made fast. This Sankey Visualization and site did a great job of displaying the content and statistics of Energy. The truths, the reality, and the dangers.