Facts, Myths & What Most Americans Know About Energy



What Americans know and believe about the power that fuels our world will absolutely shape the political and personal choices we make as we try to move the planet forward.

So, how much do you know? Take our quiz, see how your answers compare to the national sample in our Energy Learning Curve survey, and check out some of our other resources on this issue, including the Citizen's Survival Kit and Who Turned Out The Lights: Your Guided Tour To The Energy Crisis.

1. Less than five percent of the world's oil is located in the United States, both on land and offshore.
a) True
b) False
c) Don't know


2. Most of the oil that the United States imports comes from the Middle East.
a) True
b) False
c) Don't know


3. By reducing the level of smog in the United States, we've gone a long way towards reducing global warming.
a) True
b) False
c) Don't know


4. Driving gasoline-powered vehicles and using coal to generate electricity both contribute to global warming.
a) True
b) False
c) Don't know


5. Americans use the same amount of energy per person as Europeans.
a) True
b) False
c) Don't know


6. Cars in Europe and Japan are required to get more miles per gallon than cars in the United States.
a) True
b) False
c) Don't know


7. Geothermal energy is a fossil fuel.
a) True
b) False
c) Don't know


8. Using crops like corn to produce ethanol increases food prices.
a) True
b) False
c) Hotly Debated


9. Nuclear power is a type of renewable energy.
a) True
b) False
c) Don't know


10. Over the long run, the price of oil will go up because supplies are diminishing and demand is increasing.
a) True
b) False
c) Don't know