...AND CHEAPER...:

We've become vastly more efficient. In 2010, it took about half the energy to produce a dollar's worth of output (gross domestic product) as in 1980. This reflected more fuel-efficient vehicles -- a response to higher gasoline prices and government fuel economy standards -- and a shift from an energy-intensive industrial economy to a service economy. An office complex with 5,000 workers uses less energy than a steel mill with 5,000 workers. The EIA expects these trends to continue; energy use per dollar of GDP is projected to drop 42 percent from 2010 to 2035.

Meanwhile, domestic energy production is rising and -- astonishingly -- import dependence is rapidly falling. In 2010, oil imports accounted for 49 percent of U.S. consumption, down from 60 percent in 2005. By 2035, imports could decline to 36 percent, projects the EIA. All this seems good news.

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