Charts

The prices consumers pay for fossil fuels are low relative to costs for other energy sources. In particular, natural gas has become a very inexpensive source of energy. However, this is only one part—the private cost—of the total social cost of generating electricity with fossil fuels. These private costs are shown in blue in the chart.

Much of U.S. infrastructure was not designed or built with climate change resiliency in mind, and as a result, much of U.S. infrastructure is vulnerable to the effects of climate change. This map shows the bridges that would be considered vulnerable to flooding caused by projected climate change, from 2051–2100. 

If global carbon dioxide emissions continue to grow according to their current trajectory, the United States will feature a very different range of climates than it currently does. By 2100 the majority of U.S. states would experience summers hotter than those of Mexico in 2012. These maps show the projected increase in temperatures.

The U.S. share of GHG emissions is projected to drop over time as developing countries’ emissions grow and the United States continues to limit its new GHG emissions and experience relatively slow economic growth. By 2050 the shares of cumulative GHG emissions accounted for by China and India will be larger, at 20 and 6 percent, respectively, while the U.S. share will have dropped to 16 percent. By 2100 China and India will have produced over one-third of global cumulative GHG emissions.

Prior CO2 emissions have already resulted in substantial global temperature increases. A common misconception about climate change is that the imminent exhaustion of fossil fuel resources will act as a natural restraint on CO2 emissions and associated temperature rise. In fact, fossil fuel resources remain extensive, particularly in the form of coal. If world economies used all of the remaining fossil fuel resources that can be profitably extracted with current technology and prices, the total temperature impact is projected to be 2.8°F (1.6°C). Policy actions—and not the natural exhaustion of fossil fuel resources—will likely be required to avoid these outcomes.

This chart shows the trends in temperature on Earth from 1880–2015.

The United States is experiencing large increases in energy production, including both conventional fossil fuels and renewable sources.The surge in domestic production of both fuels has not only sharply reduced imports, but also created export opportunities that were widely unexpected as recently as a decade ago. Combined with stable demand, the surge in domestic energy production has resulted in lower prices across multiple fuels, most notably oil and natural gas. The result is that American consumers are spending less on energy than at any time in decades.

Sea-level rise, in conjunction with storm surges, will be very costly even if appropriate preparations are made. As shown in this chart, the Environmental Protection Agency (2015c) estimates that the cumulative expense of sea-level rise and storm surges associated with climate change would be roughly $810 billion by 2100.

Government investment in energy-related research and development has varied considerably over time, alternately receiving encouragement during periods of perceived crisis and lower support during periods of low prices and abundant supply. Notably, this pattern holds true across the industrialized nations shown in this chart, reflecting the fact that they all experienced the same changes in global energy markets.

This figure highlights the growing interaction between transportation and energy sector carbon dioxide emissions. As the range of energy sources for vehicles widens and electric vehicles become more common, it will become increasingly important to design policies that account for carbon dioxide emissions wherever they are generated.

For decades, growth in emissions from the electric power sector outpaced that of the transportation sector. However, transportation recently surpassed the power sector as the largest source of U.S. energy-related carbon dioxide emissions in 2016 for the first time since 1979 (Vine 2016). This chart shows that shift. 

Even without implementation of the Clean Power Plan, renewable power—derived largely from wind, solar, hydroelectric, and geothermal sources—is projected to exceed coal-powered generation by 2048. This chart displays the net electricity generation by fuel source since 2000 and projected generation to 2050, shoing that production of electricity from natural gas and renewables has increased in recent years, whereas production from coal has fallen.

The geographic variation in water withdrawals across the country underscores both the complexity of America’s water challenges and the importance of a diverse set of policy reforms. See The Hamilton Project's interactive maps to compare county-by-county variation in total water withdrawals for irrigation, thermoelectric, and domestic withdrawals.

The price that households pay for water is highly variable across cities, even when controlling for the volume of water that different households use.

There is considerable regional variation in per capita domestic water use, which includes indoor uses (e.g., drinking, flushing toilets, preparing food, showering, and washing clothes and dishes) as well as outdoor uses (e.g., watering lawns and gardens and washing cars).

Almost 40 percent of California's freshwater withdrawals are used for the production of fruits, nuts, and alfalfa.

The fastest growing area of the country receives the least precipitation.

Solutions to the country’s growing water challenges lie, in part, with the development and adoption of new innovative technologies. Yet, in comparison to the clean energy sector, innovation in the water sector has remained low. Using the numbers of patents filed in clean energy and water purification as indicators, the clean energy sector has exhibited a much higher rate of innovation over the past decade.

The U.S. fishing industry contributed approximately $90 billion to the economy in 2012. This contribution is split between commercial and recreational fishing—$59.0 billion and $30.4 billion, respectively.

When energy sources are priced, including the social costs – environmental degregation and health risks, different winners and losers come out than when prices are simply those shown at the pump.

The map above shows counties designated “non-attainment” by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency because their pollution concentrations of specific contaminants exceeded the National Ambient Air Quality Standards.

State and local governments provide most of the funding for critical infrastructure systems, but spending has declined over the last 50 years.