U.S. energy production and consumption patterns have undergone radical changes during the second half of the 20th century. For example:

• At 18 million barrels per day, U.S. consumption of petroleum in 1995 was triple the 1949 rate. However, domestic production of petroleum was only 51 percent higher in 1995 than in 1949 and has generally been in decline since 1970. The difference is made up by net imports, which have increased twenty-five-fold since 1949.

• The United States mined over a billion short tons of coal in 1995, more than twice the 1949 tonnage. Our uses of coal have changed sharply; in 1949, 83 percent of domestic coal consumption was accounted for by industry, homes, businesses, and railroads. In 1995, electric utilities accounted for 88 percent of U.S. consumption.

• Merely an engineering dream a few decades ago, nuclear power today provides more than one-fifth of the Nation's electricity. However, the number of operable U.S. nuclear power plants peaked in 1991 and has since declined.

• U.S. energy consumption per person, which measured 204 million Btu in 1949, peaked at 352 million Btu in 1978 and stood at 345 million Btu in 1995.

Transformations such as these are made vividly clear through the tables, figures, and flow diagrams in the Energy Information Administration's Annual Energy Review 1995 ( AER95). AER95 presents wide-ranging and detailed time-series data on U.S. energy production, consumption, and resources, in most cases stretching back to 1949. Introductory chapters review major energy developments for the year and summarize the U.S. energy picture as a whole. Additional chapters discuss petroleum, natural gas, coal, electricity, nuclear energy, renewable energy, international energy, energy-related environmental indicators, and financial indicators concerning major U.S. energy companies.

For more information about this report, contact Barbara T. Fichman, Office of Energy Markets and End Use, at 202-586-5737 or via Internet E-Mail at bfichman@eia.doe.gov. If you have problems accessing the AER95 on the Internet, contact wmaster@eia.doe.gov or call 202-586-2753. For general information about energy, contact the National Energy Information Center at 202-586-8800 or via Internet E-Mail at infoctr@eia.doe.gov.