Energy and the Environment: Myths and Facts

Publication Date: January 2007

Publisher: Manhattan Institute for Policy Research. Center for Energy Policy and the Environment

Author(s): Max Schulz

Research Area: Energy; Environment

Keywords: myths; environment; energy

Type: Report

Abstract:

At least since the energy crisis of the early 1970s, the United States has wrestled with the difficult question of how best to ensure an adequate energy supply while protecting the environment. Today, this question continues to play a role in our political debates. Whether and how public policy might reduce reliance on imported oil, encourage lower-emission vehicles, or spur the development of new or cleaner sources of power are all regular matters of public discussion and concern.

It is in this context that the Manhattan Institute's Center for Energy and the Environment offers this publication. We report here on the answers given by 1,000 Americans, chosen to be representative of public opinion generally, on matters such as the sources of U.S. energy supply, the extent of the oil supply, the rate of global warming, and trends in atmospheric pollution. Our poll was taken at a time, the summer of 2006, when, because of a sharp increase in the price of gasoline, public interest in energy and environmental issues was particularly keen.

The survey found that the views that Americans hold about a wide range of these issues are, in key ways,
inaccurate. Herein we report on what might be called the "energy myths," to which many Americans subscribe, and their correctives. "Energy Myths and Energy Facts" is intended as a primer for educators, journalists, and public officials, for concerned citizens generally, as we seek twin goals: an energy supply sufficient to fuel continued economic growth; and environmental policies that will protect the public health and the quality of our lives.