‘Just the Facts with Steve Ballmer’ Shares Government Data on Energy & the Environment, and Economy

(BPT) - USAFacts, a not-for-profit, nonpartisan civic organization founded by former Microsoft CEO, Steve Ballmer, is launching the next set of PSAs in a six-part series — these will focus on energy & the environment, and economy. Since the series aired last month, “Just the Facts with Steve Ballmer” has had more than 16 million views, a testament to the public’s interest in understanding facts during peak election season.

“Voters are yearning for a place where they know what they’re getting is accurate information and reporting, especially ahead of the Presidential debates,” said Steve Ballmer, founder of USAFacts. “We take real government data that underscores important issues that matter to Americans from inflation numbers and housing stats to immigration and healthcare data and present it in a way that helps people understand the actual numbers and issues without the rhetoric.”

USAFacts’ mission is to provide Americans with answers using unbiased facts about our country that are rooted in data. The two new episodes will premiere on NewsNation on Sept. 8 at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT, featuring key statistics on the economy and the U.S. energy sector and the environment. USAFacts will provide the facts — voters can see the data for themselves and decide what it means for them.

"At USAFacts, we are adding clarity to the conversation by providing unbiased, easy-to-understand facts to inform voters on the topics making headlines during election season,” said Poppy MacDonald, president of USAFacts. “The positive response to our video series speaks to just how many voters are seeking to make sense of partisan dialogue. Our platform empowers voters with the facts to help them decide what’s best for our democracy in November.”

Episodes will be available to stream on the USAFacts YouTube channel.

Key economic stats** include:

• The U.S. went from 2.5% growth in 2019 to -2.2% when COVID hit in 2020, up to 5.8% in 2021 during the recovery, to about 2.5% in 2023.
• In 2023, real GDP per person in the U.S. reached a high of $81,624, which was up 2% from 2022.
• In February 2020, unemployment was a low 3.5% and increased to 14.8% in April 2020. By Q1 2023, it was at 3.4%, and a small increase to 4% as of May 2024.
• In 2019, the average cost of a gallon of gas was $2.60; by 2022, it rose to nearly $4. And in June 2023, it was over $5 a gallon. In 2023, the average cost lowered to $3.52 a gallon.
• U.S. employers added about 3.1 million jobs in 2023; growing the workforce to 159 million people.

**Sources: USAFacts, U.S. Energy Information Administration, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics 7/19/24, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, accessed 8/14/24, Bureau of Economic Analysis, accessed 8/13/24

Overall, the proportion of total consumer spending spent on energy is lower today than in the past. Forty years ago, total energy costs accounted for almost 8% of all consumer spending. That's recently dropped to around 4.2%.

Key energy & the environment stats* include:

• America consumes a lot of energy: with 4% of the world's population, we account for about 16% of global energy use. The U.S. uses more energy than any other country except for China, but China spreads that energy use across the population nearly four times larger than ours.
• Transportation accounts for 30% of all energy consumption, almost 90% of which comes from gas and diesel fuels burned by vehicles. The U.S. has more than 280 million registered vehicles. Less than 1% are electric vehicles and hybrids, although they comprised over 16% of all light duty vehicle sales in the U.S. in 2023.
• Twenty years ago, fossil fuels accounted for 88% of U.S. energy consumption. In 2023 it was 82%, with nuclear power accounting for 9% and renewable energy, which includes solar, wind, hydropower, geothermal and biomass, like ethanol, also accounting for 9%.

*Sources: U.S. Energy Information Administration, accessed 8/12/24, U.S. Energy Information Administration, 7/21/20, U.S. Energy Information Administration, accessed 8/13/24, United States Census Bureau, accessed 8/12/24)

About 73% of America’s greenhouse gasses result from our burning fossil fuels for energy, with the transportation sector being the most significant source of these emissions. Global forces have also created an impact. Russia invading Ukraine, and unrest in Venezuela, reduced the amount of oil that the U.S. imported from both countries.

“Just the Facts” videos launch monthly leading up to Election Day (Nov. 5). Current episodes include Immigration, the National Budget, Energy & the Environment, and the Economy. The last set of PSAs will launch on Oct. 6 and dig into Health and Healthcare, and America by the Numbers.