Trend at a glance

Energy remains the worst-performing trend in the Cascadia Scorecard. Counting highway fuels and electricity in homes and businesses, Cascadians consume the energy-equivalent of just over two gallons of gasoline per person every day--nearly double the Scorecard model, Germany.

The money the region now pays for fossil fuels would be better spent on conservation, efficiency, and local, renewable energy sources--which would bring economic as well as environmental benefits to the region. A carbon cap-and-trade system, or a carbon tax on fossil fuels (modeled, perhaps, on British Columbia's existing carbon tax), would help reduce the toll of our fossil fuel habit by encouraging a smooth transition to a cleaner and more stable energy system.

Updated June 2010. (Click for more information on Sightline's energy research.)


More about energy

What the energy indicator measures and why

As a proxy for Cascadia's overall energy consumption, the Scorecard tracks the per-person consumption of motor fuels and the use of electricity in homes and buildings. For ease of comparison, Sightline converts these three different forms of energy into a common energy unit: the energy-equivalent of a gallon of regular gasoline.
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The target and why it was chosen

The Scorecard's target for energy consumption is the energy-equivalent of 7.5 gallons of gasoline per person per week -- Sightline's appoximation of Germany's consumption of highway fuels and non-industrial electricity in 2001, the most recent year for which data was available when the Scorecard was launched in 2004.
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Long-term trends

High energy prices and economic jitters have dampened the Northwest's appetite for energy in the past two years. Still, Cascadians are profligate energy consumers, and the region's energy use has been stuck in high gear for decades.
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The results in detail

On average, Cascadians burned a gallon of gasoline per person each day in 2009; consumed two gallons of diesel fuel each week, mostly for long-haul trucks; and used enough electricity in homes and businesses to keep ten 100-watt light bulbs burning continuously (with an extra 25-watt compact fluorescent bulb thrown in for good measure). But Sightline's energy indicator has shown falling consumption for two consecutive years--most likely the result of higher prices and a struggling economy.
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Spending on energy imports, Northwest states

Spending on energy imports, Northwest states


Energy use, Northwest states vs. BC

Energy use, Northwest states vs. BC


Per capita gasoline consumption, Northwest states

Per capita gasoline consumption, Northwest states