Americans are still the world's biggest energy hogs

World Bank figures for CO2 emissions in metric tons per capita:

Carbon dioxide emissions are those stemming from the burning of fossil fuels and the manufacture of cement. They include carbon dioxide produced during consumption of solid, liquid, and gas fuels and gas flaring.

Source Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center, Environmental Sciences Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Tennessee, United States.

http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/EN.ATM.CO2E.PC/countries/US--XS-FR-DE-CN-IT?display=graph

Nuclear power is often cited as "necessary to our energy needs" but the data charted clearly indicate that if America got responsible like other countries and were less piggish about their "energy needs", we probably wouldn't need nuclear at all.  It is a dissembling argument based on the assumption that our energy gluttony is itself a necessary thing, except that those making the argument never point out that American energy consumption is vastly excessive.