energy consumption

Between cries of "Drill Baby, Drill" and the near-constant drone about our "reliance on foreign oil," you might think that the U.S. is in an energy crisis. But in fact, our reliance on imported oil has been declining since 2005, and trends in energy production and consumption look encouraging.

A building boom -- and the constrained supply of materials due to mandated energy cuts -- sent Chinese cement, metal and building-equipment stocks up Thursday. Meanwhile, Hong Kong and Japanese exporters benefited from improving consumer sentiment and falling unemployment in the U.S.

Cutting energy use in buildings -- both commercial and residential -- is a hot market for a growing number of tech companies, from giants such as GE and Intel to Silicon Valley startups. And the federal government is an eager booster.

Cisco is expanding its foray into the smart grid with plans to acquire Arch Rock. The San Francisco-based startup is developing wireless-networking equipment for the electrical grid.

EMeter, which makes software that monitors energy use, is the latest smart-grid tech startup to garner significant investment -- $12.5 million worth. With old electricity grids being replaced with smart ones, investors -- and tech giants like Google and Cisco -- are surging into the sector.