Most Americans don’t know risks of renewables, benefits of oil and gas
The New York Post put out poll results this week finding that the majority of Americans don’t understand the risks of renewable energy or the benefits of oil and gas.
The Post reports:
As many as 57% of US voters are not aware that the “United States is at an elevated risk of energy shortfalls,” compared to 43% who were well up on elevated risks of energy shortages, according to a poll from the American Energy Institute exclusively shared with The Post.
About two-thirds of US grids have been vulnerable to energy shortfalls in the past, per data from the US Energy Administration Agency, and the institute has noted that “regions with higher reliance on renewable energy are at an even higher risk.”
Meanwhile, only 41% of US voters were aware that fossil fuels can be used to preserve baked goods, 46% were aware they can be used to formulate medicines like aspirin and 49% knew that they can help create ammonia for fertilizers.
Other common fossil fuel uses such as plastic production (60%) and concrete (63%) were more widely known.
The registered voters perceived the most valuable uses of fossil fuels to be gas for heating homes (60%), gasoline (50%), electricity for cooling (49%), concrete (34%), plastics in medical devices (30%) and ammonia used for fertilizers (27%)…
Support for expanding green energy sources like solar panels, windmills and hydrogen production (48%) narrowly edged out support for boosting the production of oil, coal and natural gas among registered voters, the poll found.
Just 43% support the exploration for and production of oil, coal and natural gas, while 8% were undecided.
As with many pressing issues, respondents’ answers broke down along party lines, with self-identified Democrats preferring renewables 64% to 27% who backed fossil fuels and Republicans backing fossil fuels 63% to 30%, according to the poll.
Independents leaned toward renewables 48% to 43%.
American Experiment has well-documented the risks of energy shortfalls and grid instability, especially in its modeling of Walz’s Blackout Bill that shows a 100 percent renewable Minnesota grid would lead to a 55-hour blackout in January 2040.
It stands out that while most voters knew that oil and gas are used in plastic production and concrete, that still leaves about 40 percent that didn’t know those uses. Plastics for medical devices, which 30 percent of respondents saw as most valuable, are important to ensure sterility and ward against infection. The invention of the disposable plastic syringe/hypodermic needle, for example, revolutionized human and veterinary medicine. That many Americans aren’t aware of these benefits of oil and gas is a shame.
The poll was conducted by the American Energy Institute, a 501(c)(3)-designated nonprofit dedicated to representing “energy producers across the United States, all with one united goal: spreading the message of abundant, reliable and affordable energy.”
The polling was exclusively shared with the New York Post and sampled 1,600 registered voters between Nov. 21 and Nov. 25 with a margin of error of ± 2.45 points. Men comprised 48 percent of respondents and women comprised 52 percent. 31 percent of respondents were Republican, 36 percent were Democrat, and 33 percent were independents.