Daily Journal of Commerce
BY: Nathalie Weinstein

Well, we must be doing something right.

An analysis of federal energy use data by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory shows that Americans have reduced their energy consumption by 5 percent in 2009, the largest recorded drop in history, according to CNN. While Americans used 99.2 quadrillion British Thermal Units in 2008, they used only 94.6 quadrillion BTU in 2009.

The drop in energy use was not just because of the economic recession, but because of an increase in the use of more fuel efficient cars and energy efficient appliances.

The same study also showed a significant increase in the use of alternative energy. Use of wind power increased to 0.7 quadrillion BTU in 2009, up from 0.51 quadrillion BTU in 2008. The growth of wind power also helped to reduce the use of coal. Lower electricity demand overall helped to reduce the use coal as well as natural gas, the report said.