[ti:US Records Lowest Energy Use in 30 Years] [by:www.51voa.com] [00:00.00]更多听力请访问51VOA.COM [00:00.04]Government officials say the United States [00:04.40]is using less energy than it has in thirty years. [00:10.92]The officials noted that this was because much of the nation's economy [00:16.44]has been shut down by measures meant to contain the new coronavirus. [00:23.72]The U.S. Energy Information Administration said in a report [00:28.44]that reduced demand for coal, gasoline and jet fuel drove the decrease. [00:36.80]The numbers were similar in countries around the world [00:41.44]where energy use has fallen. [00:45.32]Those trends are expected to turn around as commercial activity restarts. [00:53.60]But a decline in U.S. and worldwide greenhouse gas emissions is expected. [01:02.72]Greenhouse gases are gasses in the atmosphere that trap heat [01:08.56]and are believed to cause rising temperatures. [01:13.80]Overall U.S. energy usage dropped 14 percent during April [01:21.36]compared to the same time a year earlier, the energy administration said. [01:29.80]That is the lowest monthly level since 1989. [01:36.68]It is also the largest decrease ever recorded [01:41.44]since the government began collecting the data in 1973. [01:48.96]Before April, the largest drop was in December 2001. [01:55.36]That period followed the September 11 terrorist attacks on the U.S. [02:02.60]which shocked the economy. [02:06.40]A mild winter also depressed demand for electricity. [02:14.08]Not all forms of energy, however, have had decreases. [02:20.00]Natural gas usage did not follow the trend [02:24.28]and increased by 15 percent during April. [02:29.88]Lockdown or stay-at-home orders may have played a part in the increase. [02:38.60]Petroleum use fell to 14.7 million barrels a day in April, [02:46.28]down almost a third compared to the same period last year. [02:52.60]However, demand already has rebounded after stay-at-home orders ended [02:59.72]and large parts of the economy started moving again. [03:05.64]People appear to be returning to their old driving habits. [03:10.52]Petroleum use in June was back up to 17.6 million barrels a day. [03:19.08]That number comes from the American Petroleum Institute. [03:25.40]However, the group noted that new drilling activity continues to be weak. [03:34.00]Oil exploration has decreased for seven straight months [03:39.40]as stockpiles of oil and petroleum products remain near record levels. [03:47.76]"While we are not out of the woods yet, [03:50.52]we do appear to be headed in the right direction," [03:54.92]said Dean Foreman, the industry group's chief economist. [04:01.84]Coal companies are expected to have more difficulty [04:06.68]than petroleum producers in recovering from the coronavirus crisis. [04:14.20]The industry has been decreasing since 2007 [04:19.40]although President Donald Trump has sought to support it. [04:25.40]Coal use fell 27 percent in April compared to the same period in 2019. [04:34.80]Most coal produced in the U.S. is used to create electricity, [04:41.32]but many electricity producers have switched to less costly natural gas [04:49.00]and renewables: wind and solar. [04:54.92]The energy administration predicts [04:58.00]that all energy usage will remain below 2019 levels for the rest of the year. [05:08.12]I'm Mario Ritter, Jr. [05:13.72]更多听力请访问51VOA.COM