Americans say US is headed in wrong direction on energy

My friend Carole Minor over at Encore Communications recently forwarded me the results from the University of Texas at Austin's first Energy Poll, which I'd like to share with OGFJ readers. The poll surveyed more than 3,400 consumers, and the results surprise in some areas and confirm our suspicions in others. It was released on Oct. 19.

Contrary to conventional wisdom in Washington, the poll indicates that Americans do care about energy issues. While jobs continue to top the list of national concerns, the poll found that 68% are concerned about the energy efficiency of their homes and 60% about global energy issues.

Furthermore, less than 14% think the country is headed in the right direction on energy, 84% are worried about US consumption of oil from foreign sources, and 76% are unhappy with our lack of progress in developing better ways to use energy efficiently and develop renewable sources.

Results indicate a lack of satisfaction with leadership for our energy future. Participants were asked to rate their satisfaction and dissatisfaction with the job that 26 different organizations, corporations, institutions, and government bodies were doing to address energy issues. Respondents indicated greatest satisfaction with their own performance, followed by that of scientists and engineers, academic and research institutions, and renewable energy firms.

The public overall was much less satisfied with how government and big business are addressing energy issues. Congress, with ratings of 8% satisfied and 71% dissatisfied, ranked dead last. Only 26% thought that President Obama is addressing energy issues properly, but oil and gas companies fared worse – only 16% were satisfied with what the petroleum industry is doing. Obviously the industry has some image problems to overcome, and the April 2010 BP Macondo well blowout and spill in the Gulf of Mexico didn't help. Even the coal industry, with a 20% satisfaction rating, fared better than oil and gas.

Asked about the role of government in energy matters, 56.7% thought the government should do more in preparing us for future energy needs, while 25.2% thought the government is trying to do too many things.

Not surprisingly in a tough economy, consumers were less concerned about energy's impact on the environment than on their wallets. In the poll, 37.4% of respondents felt that economic growth should definitely be given priority, while 33.3% thought that protecting the environment should be the top priority. Roughly another third (29%) had a middle position on this question, indicating that both positions should be considered.

This next question had particularly interesting results. When asked what their main energy concerns were, 84% said it was "US consumption of oil from foreign sources." At first glance this looks to be encouraging for the US oil and gas industry. However, 69% said they were concerned about "US consumption of fossil fuels," and 64% were worried about "the impact of US oil and gas exploration on the environment." And 76% think the US should do more to develop renewable energy resources.

When questioned about their level of knowledge about how energy is produced, delivered, and used, only 24.2% said they were knowledgeable, while 33.7% said they were "not knowledgeable." A plurality (42%) indicated they were somewhat knowledgeable.

A comfortable majority of consumers polled said they were interested in learning more about energy. Eighty percent said they wanted to learn how to reduce their own energy use, 70% wanted to know more about local energy issues, 67% expressed an interest in finding out more about national energy issues, and 60% wanted to learn about global energy issues.

When queried about which sources they trusted to provide non-biased information about energy issues, 36% said consumers groups and reports, while 32% said "environmental resources." Only 14% said they trusted local, state, and federal government and governmental agencies to provide this information.

Asked how they expect the energy situation in the US to be in 25 years, only 22.5% of poll respondents said they thought we would be better off, while 41.3% thought the situation would be worse.

The poll will be conducted twice annually, in October and April. UT officials say their long-term vision is that poll results will be utilized by public policymakers, academicians, energy practitioners, companies, and the public alike to inform decision-making. For more information, visit www.utenergypoll.utexas.edu.

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