Energy Consumption in the United States and Brazil (Essay Sample)

Energy consumption in the United States and Brazil
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Introduction
The global rates of energy consumption have been on the rise, with developed nations consuming more energy than the developing nations. The increasing rates of global energy consumption are largely driven by the high rate of population growth in developing countries as well as increased industrialization efforts in these countries. According to the U.S Energy Information Administration (EIA) (2015), the consumption patterns for countries inside the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) are relatively stable compared to those outside the organization. EIA estimates that the primary energy consumption for OECD countries will grow at a rate of 0.5% per year between 2010 and 2040. However, developed nations, led by the US, continue to consume a lot of energy. This paper discusses and compares the common fuel sources, emissions and total energy consumption by the United States and Brazil.
Energy consumption in the U.S
The Key energy sources in the US include petroleum, natural gas, coal, nuclear electric power and biomass. The U.S also makes use of solar power hydroelectric power as well as wind and geothermal power. Despite the country’s population being 5% of the global population, the U.S consumes 24% of the global energy (EIA, 2015). The end user sectors in which the energy is consumed include industrial, commercial, and residential as well as transportation. Most of the energy is consumed by the industries followed by the transportation sector and residential buildings respectively. In 2014, the commercial buildings utilized the lowest amount of energy at 13, 222 trillion Btu. With regard to energy sources, most of the energy consumed in the US is from petroleum followed by natural gas. In 2014, the US consumed 34.78 quadrillion Btu from petroleum and 27.59 quadrillion Btu from natural gas. Solar and geothermal are the least utilized sources of energy in the US. The consumption of solar and geothermal energy in 2014 was 0.43 and 0.22 quadrillion Btu respectively (Statista, 2015).
Greenhouse gas emission in the US has been on a steady rise since 1990. At the moment, the emission rates are high by 6% compared to the rates in 1990. The increase in emissions over this period of time is primarily due to the increase in the carbon intensity of the country’s key sources of energy such as petroleum and coal. The leading source of emission at the moment is electricity production at 31%. Production of electricity is followed by transportation and industries at 27% and 21% respectively. Commercial and residential houses account for 12% of the total emissions while agriculture accounts for only 9% (EPA, 2015). The US’s agricultural sector includes establishments that deal in the rearing of animals, growing of crops as well as harvesting of fish and other animals. In 2013, the sector contributed over $ 700 billion to the country’s GDP. The sector is not only an important source of employment for many Americans, but it also forms an important source of raw materials for other industries including the food and beverages industry as well as the leather and apparel industries (USDA, 2015).
The high levels of energy consumption in the US have, without any doubt, played a significant role in raising the rates of greenhouse gas emission. The country is among the top countries that have contributed to higher levels of greenhouse gases. The country has acknowledged its role in greenhouse gas emission and has now embarked on several measures aimed at reducing emissions as well as mitigating the impact of the emissions (Johansson, Patwardhan, Nakićenović & Gomez-Echeverri, 2012). The country is leading global efforts aimed at addressing the threats that climate change pose to the global society and measures that need to be put in place in order to curb these threats. Measures such as the Clean Power Plan aim at lowering the levels of carbon emission by 32% by 2030. Another regulatory measure enacted by the government is the final greenhouse tailoring rule which sets the threshold for greenhouse emission for the biggest emitters of greenhouse gases in the country. Other regulatory measures that underscore the country’s level of participation in global emission regulations include setting of Oil and Natural Gas Air Pollution Standards as well as Landfill Air Pollution Standards (EPA, 2015).
Energy consumption in Brazil
Unlike the US, Brazil is a developing country with a population of over 160 million people. It is the largest country in the South America with a fast growing market for electricity, oil and natural gas. Despite being a developing country, Brazil was the eighth largest consumer of energy in the world as of 2014 (EIA, 2015). The EIA reports that over the past one decade, the total energy consumption in Brazil has doubled. This tremendous rise in energy consumption is attributed to the sustained economic growth and an expanding population. Apart from being one of the leading energy consumers on the globe, the country is also an important energy producer. Over the past few years, Brazil has increased its domestic oil production, reaching 2.95 barrels per day in 2014.
The key energy sources in Brazil include fossil fuels, hydropower, mineral coal as well as nuclear power. Fossil fuels account for 60% of the country’s energy supply. Biomass and hydropower are the second largest sources of energy in Brazil accounting for approximately 40% of the total energy. On the other hand, nuclear energy represents a very little percentage of the total energy production at 2% (EIA, 2015). Despite having one of the highest rates of energy consumption in the world, Brazil has a relatively lower rate of greenhouse gas emission. The key sources of emission in the country include deforestation, agriculture, energy production as well as industries. Agriculture accounts for the highest levels of emissions followed by the fast growing energy sector. The agricultural sector is one of the largest in the country accounting a large portion of the country’s GDP. The country is among the leaders in agriculture. Some of the agricultural products exported by the country include coffee, sugar as well as beef (El Dahr, 2015).
It is important to note that the country has over the past managed to cut its greenhouse gas emission by 39%, thanks to increased efforts to reduce deforestation. As of 2010, deforestation accounted for only 20% of the country’s total emission. The country is actively involved in the global efforts to cut down greenhouse gas emissions (Pao and Tsai, 2011). The country has established regulations aimed at preventing deforestation of the Amazon, the world’s largest rainforest. These efforts are gradually bearing fruits as shown by the significant drop in the country’s total emissions. The government has also set up stringent measures aimed at regulating energy production and industrial processes.
Solutions or regulations to energy use in high-demand countries
Most developing countries such as Brazil, China and India are fast becoming high energy demand countries. The energy demand and consumption levels in these countries are fast rivaling those of developed countries such as the U.S and Japan. Increasing the production of renewable energy including geothermal energy and solar energy is one of the solutions to energy use in high demand countries. Renewable energy is cheaper and much cleaner compared to other sources of energy such as nuclear and fossil fuels. Additionally, high demand countries need to set up strict...