A mounting wave of change is beginning to be felt in the United States in 2017. The Al Gore "inconvenient" climate sequel film was almost a total bust. The "Geostorm" climate disaster film is doing poorly. The doomsayers may have hit a wall of disinterest resulting from mental and emotional overload on the notion of disaster on the climate front.
Withdrawal from the Paris climate accord is of no interest to most Americans. The tyrannical, and probably illegal, Clean Power Plan appears to have been squelched. Energy data suggest some reindustrialization is occurring.
Even with some reindustrialization, population growth, and GDP growth, total US energy use (primary) in 2017 is on track to be 2.5-3% less than in 2005.
The political climate is appalling, in that civil discourse is being replaced by banshee howls crying for revolution and destruction of opponents. A direct attack with an automatic weapon on politicians practicing on a ball field shows a bloodlust reminiscent of centuries past. Not only the swamp needs to be drained, but hearts and minds need to be cured of the disease of fanatacism.
Revelations of apparent extensive illegal activities by the US Department of Justice and by some political entities are beginning to overwhelm political discussion. Energy issues are sinking into relative unimportance.
The brave new world of sybaritic utopianism has caused cultural cracks to propagate, and true energy performance measurement and tracking of energy performance progress will have to wait for the political discontent to wane, and possibly also for common sense to return.