Department of Energy

(noun)

A Cabinet-level area of government in the United States concerned with U.S. policies regarding energy and safety in handling nuclear material.

Related Terms

Examples of Department of Energy in the following topics:

  • Additional cost and energy saving suggestions for pumps

    • Up to 20% of the work output of a compressor is sometimes needed to make up for losses from air leaks.
    • (Energy Matters, ‘Why Your Plant Should Be Efficient', US Department of Energy)
    • In addition, leaking condensate return lines bring back less condensate to their boiler, thereby forcing the boiler to use more energy to heat up replacement water.
    • (Energy Matters)
    • Alternatively, browse the pump section of theIndustrial Efficiency Alliance website at www.industrialefficiencyalliance.org.

  • New Sources of Energy

    • "Energy independence" has thus become an important buzzword in U.S. politics, leading to greater investment in new and alternative sources of energy.
    • Two of the best known and least scientifically controversial new energy sources are solar power and wind power.
    • The idea of clean coal is still largely experimental, but the Department of Energy is investing large sums in research and technology development in this area.
    • This is not the first time the idea of greater energy independence has become popular in U.S. policy and politics.
    • These wind turbines exemplify one type of a new and alternative energy source.

  • Calculating carbon footprints

    • Calculating a ‘carbon footprint' (i.e. the amount of carbon dioxide a process creates) is a trendy way to measure carbon emissions with the added benefit that, when lowered, the numbers can be used in public relations campaigns or to prove compliance with emissions legislation.
    • Employees usually enjoy seeing how their efforts help reduce environmental degradation so displaying carbon emission reductions alongside other relevant data can help create motivation and a strong sense of achievement.
    • For more information about carbon footprints and their calculation, consult the free online calculators available on the websites of reputable environmental organizations, government departments and/or reliable energy organizations (note: make sure that your calculations take into account the energy practices and energy sources of your specific country or region).

  • Energy Policy

    • State-specific energy-efficiency incentive programs also play a significant role in the overall energy policy of the United States.
    • The 1973 oil crisis made energy a popular topic of discussion in the US.
    • The Federal Department of Energy was started with steps planned toward energy conservation and more modern energy producers.
    • The United States receives approximately 84% of its energy from fossil fuels .
    • Renewable energy accounted for about 8% of total energy consumption in the United States in 2009.

  • A Typical Department Structure

    • There are 15 current executive departments, whose secretaries comprise the Cabinet: the Departments of State, Treasury, Defense, Justice, Interior, Agriculture, Commerce, Labor, Health and Human Services, Housing and Urban Development, Transportation, Energy, Education, Veterans Affairs, and Homeland Security.
    • The number of employees at each department varies widely, from about 4,500 in the Department of Education to about 3,000,000 at the Department of Defense.
    • Likewise, the departments' budgets range from 15.77 billion at the Department of Commerce to 879.2 billion at the Department of Health and Human Services.
    • At the top of each department is the secretary (in the Department of Justice, the highest office is called the "attorney general," but the role is the same as that of the secretary of state, defense, etc.).
    • The Department of Justice is typical of all executive departments in its hierarchical organization.

  • The Executive Departments

    • The executive departments are administrative organs in the executive branch of the federal government.
    • The State Department (formally known as the Department of State) is the highest ranking executive department and is headed by the Secretary of State.
    • The three oldest executive departments are the Department of State, Department of War, and the Treasury, all of which were established in 1789.
    • The Department of War has since been subsumed by the Department of Defense, and many other executive departments have been formed.
    • After the vice president, speaker of the house, and the president pro tempore of the Senate, the heads of the executive departments are ranked as follows:

  • Cabinet Departments

    • At the top of each department is the secretary (in the Department of Justice, the highest office is called the "attorney general," but the role is parallel to that of the secretary of state, defense, etc.).
    • The three oldest executive departments are the Department of State, the Department of War, and the Treasury, all of which were established in 1789.
    • The Department of War has since been subsumed by the Department of Defense, and many other executive departments have been formed.
    • The order of the departments, and the roles of the secretaries of each department, is as follows:
    • Energy: The Secretary of Energy is responsible for research into energy sources and the handling of nuclear material.

  • Other Forms of Energy

    • Energy can come in a variety of forms.
    • Electric Energy: This is energy that is from electrical potential energy, a result of Coulombic forces.
    • Nuclear Energy: This type of energy is liberated during the nuclear reactions of fusion and fission.
    • It is the sum of all of the kinetic and potential energy that the object has.
    • In each of the aforementioned forms, energy exists as either kinetic energy, potential energy, or a combination of both.

  • Types of Energy

    • The various types of energy include kinetic, potential, and chemical energy.
    • The jet engines are converting potential energy in fuel to the kinetic energy of movement.
    • Other examples of potential energy include the energy of water held behind a dam or a person about to skydive out of an airplane.
    • Potential energy is not only associated with the location of matter, but also with the structure of matter.
    • This type of potential energy is called chemical energy, and like all potential energy, it can be used to do work.

  • The Bureaucracy

    • The United States Department of State (DoS), often referred to as the State Department, is the U.S. federal executive department responsible for the international relations of the United States, equivalent to the foreign ministries of other countries.
    • The Department is led by the Secretary of State, who is nominated by the President, confirmed by the Senate, and is a member of the Cabinet.
    • As stated by the Department of State, its purpose includes:
    • The Department of Defense (also known as the Defense Department, USDOD, DOD, DoD or the Pentagon) is the executive department of the U.S. government charged with coordinating and supervising all agencies and functions of the government concerned directly with national security and the U.S. armed forces.
    • The Department – headed by the Secretary of Defense – has three subordinate military departments: the Department of the Army, the Department of the Navy, and the Department of the Air Force.