What The Public Knows About Energy

Finding 4: The public’s knowledge level is low on energy, with significant numbers who do not know some basic facts about how energy is produced. This calls into question how firm the consensus is and how well it will hold up under pressure.

The public does not need to become experts on an issue in order to fully participate in decision making. That’s not possible, and it’s not necessary either. Americans don’t need to be economists in order to set priorities for health care reform or hold a doctorate in education to realize what’s needed in their local schools. But the public does need enough information so it can understand the basic elements of the problem and wrestle with the implications of different choices.

On energy, however, the knowledge gap is broad enough to pose a serious barrier to decision making. This cuts across all three parts of the energy “triple threat,” but is particularly significant on climate change.

For example, about half (52 percent) say that by reducing smog the United States has gone “a long way” in reducing global warming; another 12 percent were unsure if this was true or false. This is understandable and even logical; after all, if the air seems cleaner then we must be making progress. The fact that emissions controls designed to reduce ozone and remove the sooty “particulates” that cause smog don’t also remove the invisible greenhouse gas carbon dioxide might escape even well-informed people. Yet it implies that the public may be measuring this problem by yardsticks that do not even occur to experts.

There are other significant gaps in knowledge. Nearly 4 in 10 Americans (39 percent) cannot name a fossil fuel. Even more can’t name a renewable energy source. More than half of the public (56 percent) says incorrectly that nuclear energy contributes to global warming. About one-third of the public (31 percent) says that solar energy contributes to global warming.

Even when a majority of the public knows the facts, there are significant numbers of “don’t knows.” For example, majorities of Americans know that we do not use the same amount of energy as Europeans, that people in Europe and Japan pay more for gasoline and that their cars get more miles to the gallon. On each question, however, between one-fifth and one-quarter say they don’t know how to respond. If anything, people are reluctant to admit they can’t answer a survey question, so when many won’t even venture a guess, it should be taken as a significant “red flag” to the media and political leaders.

Some of these knowledge gaps also affect questions of dependence on foreign oil and the likelihood of finding more domestic supply. Nearly two-thirds (65 percent)say most of the United States’ imported oil comes from the Middle East (10 percent say they don’t know). In fact, the percentage of oil imported from the Persian Gulf is closer to 16 percent. Almost all of the respondents say the United States has more than 5 percent of the world’s oil; in fact, the figure is more like 2.5 percent. ¹

This knowledge gap impacts the public’s divided view on whether drilling offshore and in Alaska would mean we wouldn’t need to import oil (44 percent say yes, 43 percent say no). While many energy experts support more domestic drilling, very few think increased production alone would replace the oil imported by the United States, which adds up to 60 percent of total consumption. ²

All this suggests that one of the challenges in moving the public along the Energy Learning Curve™ is basic knowledge. Without certain facts, the public can’t judge what’s realistic and what’s not, and that’s bound to hamper constructive decision making.