Ever have those days when you feel you just can’t get ahead?

That’s been the story with energy efficiency for some time now. There’s a constant stream of highly touted innovations designed to get the same amount of work done using less energy. You can hardly open up a catalog or walk into a store without being faced with greener and greener options.

So the latest big picture energy reports from the Worldwatch Institute and the U.S. government are a little distressing, because they find we’re not gaining ground at all. The key points to consider:

A lot of hope is staked on greater efficiency, and with good reason. We can do more with less and do less damage to