By the numbers

The Energy Information Administration, a nonpolitical arm of the U.S. Department of Energy, publishes an “Annual Energy Outlook.” The administration is a big operation. With a staff of nearly 400 people and a budget of nearly $100 million, it publishes endless energy-related data. For example, looking forward to the year 2030, it sees the use of coal (a high-carbon fuel) increasing faster than the use of oil or natural gas (low-carbon fuels). Hence, the addition of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere will grow faster in the future than it has in the past.