Growth in natural gas consumption was a big factor in the United States’ record energy use in 2018.
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The US Energy Information Administration dropped some troubling new data this week: US energy consumption hit a record high in 2018 in large part due to the growing use of fossil fuels.

Fossil fuels provided 80 percent of total energy used in 2018. Consumption of natural gas and petroleum grew by 4 percent, while coal consumption declined by 4 percent compared to the year before. Renewable energy production also reached a record high last year, climbing 3 percent relative to 2017.

 US Energy Information Administration

The growth in energy use is largely a function of the growing US economy. More goods, more travel, more services […]