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Energy is frequently in the news and the last couple of  days are no exception. I have just picked out a few topics that I particularly noticed.

Last week the Office of National Statistics put out some research that UK household  electricity consumption was down 24.7% in the last six years. Given that a few years ago many of us wasted a lot of energy and the amount of money being spent on energy efficiency in the last few years this should be seen as good news. However, it didnt stop some commentators using it as an excuse to bash the energy companies again. I also suspect that it means the size of average bills is overstated because Ofgems standard consumption figures tend to lag reality. I acknowledge that high prices are causing people real pain but if the response is to be more careful in the use of energy that is, generally, a positive thing both economically and environmentally. 

US energy exports have been booming in recent years. In 2011 the US became a net fuel exporter for the first time in neary two decades and between June  2011 and June 2012 petroleum and coal exports doubled again to over $110 billion and oil and gas exports were up over 60% in the same period. These two sectors occupied the top two slots in the export growth league table. This is just an example of how unconventional gas has changed the energy landscape in the US in quite a major way.   However, the US is different from the UK interms of geology and politics. I can't imagine the scenes we have seen in Balcombe happening in Texas!

An article in the Financial Times discusses the issue of resource nationalism by looking at Mexican oil. I didn't know that Mexico nationalised their oil industry 75 years ago under President Cardenas. Now the current President, Enrique Nieto, has talked openly about bringing in foreign capital and expertise, but on Mexican terms. The ownership, production and value of fossil fuel reserves is always a highly political issue and countries all over the world take a variety of approaches, partly depending on whether they have resources. In fact in many regions around the world the politics and economics of energy are the dominant issue. 

These three stories all show how central energy is to our modern life.