The assumption that economic growth in the USA means increasing energy demand needs rethinking. The December jobs report--200,000 jobs--shows that the US economy grew significantly in the 4th quarter of 2011. Yet, EIA reports that oil demand in December 2011 was 7% below December 2010 and gasoline demand was down about 5%.
The fact that jobs jumped up and oil consumption dropped down is another example of the energy efficiency boom at work. Growing energy efficiency is making the US economy more fuel efficient and structurally changing the demand curves for especially oil and electricity. The energy efficiency boom is also creating significant numbers of jobs directly and indirectly.
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