The Big Energy Wasters

I'm very taken by a graph entitled 'U.S. Energy Energy Flow Trends - 2002' produced by Lawrence Livermore. It shows that about 85% of energy losses are due to electrical-generation/transmission and transportation.

Since electrical transmission is a small part of the loss, it's clear that the best thing we can do is to make power plants more efficient. And, if Wikipedia is to be believed, the technology is available to increase plant efficiency. If we only look at greenhouse gasses, we need more nuclear - no improvement in efficiency, but a big drop in emissions.

For transport, Congress passed a law increasing mileage on cars and Light-trucks/Vans/SUVs. According to the Energy Information Administration, car mileage has been trending upwardsfor about 30 years, while vans, etc. have plateaued since 1990. But big trucks have made no gains in mileage for 40 years. I find this hard to believe, so will check further.