by Arielle Young

One of the umbrageous controversies casting a shadow over the world right now is the planet's over-excessive use of energy and natural resources. Some even believe that the next 1,000 years are set in stone; some will claim that there is no feasible way to reverse our man-made damage. However, according to a new study, our environmentally egregious ways have lightened up from 2007 into 2008:

"The United States used 99.2 quadrillion BTUs, or “quads” of energy in 2008, down from 101.5 quads in 2007, according to the report. Use of energy in the transport and industrial sectors of the economy fell slightly, while residential and business usage climbed slightly."

A quadrillion units of energy is translated to one thousand million million units (or 1015.) Needless to say, there is at least a noticeable decrease in quads from year to year, even if it isn't going to reverse the energy crisis immediately. This prospect is a good thing, though... this study theorizes the possibility of back-peddling the destructive tendencies of humankind!

The two, main reasons for our cutback, mainly industrial and transportation energy use, may have much to do with the economic recession. But hey, something's gotta give. The important energy source for the future lies within "renewables" (such as solar and hydroelectric energy,) so hopefully, there will be an increase in renewables within the years to come and a decline of other sources, such as coal. All we can do at this point is muster up hope that the world can improve environmentally, and enact that improvement, one step at a time.

via GOOD