Harris Survey Shows Americans Know Little About Energy---Lots of Misperceptions

Some describe America's energy policy as "lack of!"  Part of the problem is a lack of understanding of the underlying situation we face today which has a huge impact on the availability and price of energy tomorrow.

A Harris Interactive Survey on Energy shows a big gap between what American's perceive about energy supplies and reality.  Harris interviewed 1,333 adult citizens and found that Americans know very little about where their energy comes from, what it takes to get it to market, and the challenges the energy industry faces to meet growing demand.

The survey uncovered four major themes:

• They overestimate the amount of oil the United States imports from the Middle East. When asked which country was the largest U.S. supplier of oil, almost 60 percent chose Saudi Arabia which is actually the fifth largest supplier after Canada, Mexico, Nigeria and Venezuela.  Only one in 10 people correctly identified Canada and only eight percent noted that less than 15 percent of the oil the United States consumes comes from Persian Gulf countries.
• When it comes to the world's largest oil companies, only two percent knew the world's top 10 of the biggest oil companies are owned and operated by foreign govenments.  More than one in three people thought Exxon Mobil, the 14th largest, was among the world's "Big Three."
• When the International Energy Agency projects that 81 percent of the global energy demand in 2030 will be met by fossil fuels like oil, natural gas and coal, only 14 percent chose this answer and 61 percent said less. When the U.S. Energy Information Administration projects less than 10 percent of the U.S. energy use will be supplied by renewables like wind, solar and hydro in 2030, only five percent of the respondents chose the right answer.
• On oil company profits, 42 percent guessed that the industry earned between 16 and 20 cents on every dollar of gasoline sales in 2006.  The right answer is less than a dime.  On investments in new energy sources and research, only seven percent correctly estimated U.S. oil and natural gas companies invested almost $100 billion in emerging technologies in North America alone between 2000 and 2005.  More than one third guessed the industry invested less the $25 billion, the lowest possible survey choice.

No wonder we can't solve our energy problems.  If we don't know the facts, how can we reach a solution.  Remember the outputs are only as good as the inputs. Knowledge should be power, but doesn't seem to be the case in Congress or with the American public today.