Good News, Bad News and the Climate Bill

Sometimes, the old setup lines are the best ones, and with that in mind it's fair to say that the Energy Learning Curve offers good news and bad news for lawmakers working on a massive climate change bill this week.

The bill, 1,200 pages long and expected to be voted on by the House on Friday, would make sweeping changes in U.S. energy and environmental policy. The one that's getting the most attention is a "cap-and-trade" system for greenhouse gases, but the bill touches nearly every aspect of the energy debate: "green jobs," research into clean coal, and measures to increase efficiency. There's already fierce debate over what the bill will mean for energy prices.

The good news is that our Energy Learning Curve shows a lot of public consensus on energy policy and global warming. There's strong support for a number of proposals, particularly alternative energy, conservation, and incentives to become more efficient, as well as a strong sense of what's off the table (anything that increases the cost of driving, for example). So there are actually a lot of bipartisan ideas that draw substantial public support (some 10 potential solutions gained more than two-thirds support in the survey).

The bad news, however, is that the public's knowledge level on energy is low, so low that they may not have the basic facts they need to know what's realistic or to judge the tradeoffs that are going to be needed.

Half of Americans in our survey can't name a renewable energy source. Four in 10 can't name a fossil fuel. They overestimate how much renewable energy we use in the United States, and how much oil we have in the country. More than half say nuclear energy contributes to global warming (whatever its virtues or faults, nuclear power does not produce greenhouse gases).

The lesson here is not to throw up your hands and try to make energy policy without the public. For one thing, it wouldn't work. Energy touches people too closely. And secondly, Public Agenda has always found that people can and do grapple with complicated problems, once you give them some key facts and real options.

Fortunately, we have a few good starting points already set up. Have a look at the Fast Facts on Energy at Planet Forward, or the Fact Files in our Environment guide. And for some of the options for dealing with the problem, look over the choices in our Citizens Survival Kit on climate change.