The Energy Learning Curve:^TM
Coming From Different Starting Points, The Public Sees Similar Solutions

There may be some public policy decisions that can safely be left to the professionals: experts who spend their lives examining various issues. Energy isn't one of them.

Energy issues touch almost every part of our lives, from the economy and the national security implications of our dependence on oil to the changes proposed to prevent and slow down global warming. And energy is too intertwined in daily life to change without public input. No other public issue is so dependent on personal conduct and public attitudes – and on no other issue do we have as far to go in bringing the public into the picture.

Public Agenda's Energy Learning Curve^TM report is the first in a series of surveys. Released in association with Planet Forward, the innovative web-to-television project produced by the Public Affairs Project at The George Washington University, the Energy Learning Curve^TM report is designed to examine public attitudes, knowledge, values and concerns about energy, and to track how they evolve over time.

There's significant common ground in public thinking on what the nation should do about energy. The public also thinks our energy challenge is here to stay, with three-quarters of the public believes we should move toward increased use of alternative energy even if fuel prices go down.

There are ten proposals on alternative energy, energy efficiency and cutting gasoline use that have support from more than two-thirds of the public, including providing tax benefits to individuals (81 percent) and businesses (79 percent) who reduce energy consumption, increased gas-mileage requirements (78 percent), and rewarding businesses that reduce carbon emissions and penalizing those that do not.

Some 86 percent agreed either "strongly" or "somewhat" that investing in alternative energy will create many new jobs. Nearly seven in 10 (68 percent) want the nation to take steps to gain energy independence even if it raises costs.

There's also widespread agreement on ideas that are off the table for the public, at least right now. People don't want to be pushed, and they don't want to do anything that increases the cost of driving. There was strong opposition to gas taxes to fund development of renewable energy sources (53 percent) or to help achieve energy independence (57 percent), minimum prices for gas (72 percent), and congestion pricing (61 percent) to force people to change their driving habits.

Even so, the cost of fuel and dependence on foreign oil remain the public's biggest concerns about energy. Nearly nine in 10 (89 percent) say they worry about price increases, with 57 percent who worry "a lot." Concern about dependence on foreign oil is almost as high at 83 percent (47 percent worry "a lot") Climate change is lower on the public's priorities list. While 71 percent say they worry about global warming, only 32 percent say they worry about it "a lot," 25 points less than those who worry about prices.

But there are reasons to wonder how well this consensus would stand up under pressure. Our research shows the public does not know critical facts about the problem. Half of all Americans (51 percent) could not correctly identify a renewable energy source such as solar or wind power, 39 percent could not name a fossil fuel, 65 percent overestimated U.S. dependence on Middle Eastern oil, and 52 percent thought that by reducing smog, the United States has come "a long way" in addressing global warming.

Findings of this type are an important part of our Energy Learning Curve^TM research on difficult issues. Using the Learning Curve approach, we track the public's progress through a learning curve of several distinct stages: from initial awareness of what the problem is, to working through the tradeoffs of different policy choices, and finally, deciding on solutions. This is vital information for policymakers and the media, and essential to moving public dialogue forward.

As part of our Energy Learning Curve^TM analysis, Public Agenda has identified four broad clusters of public opinion groups based on attitudes, values and knowledge: the Anxious (40 percent), the Greens (24 percent), the Disengaged (19 percent) and the Climate Change Doubters (17 percent).

Policymakers tackling energy issues face challenges here, as we found that all four groups will require a steep learning curve to get up to speed on the facts and public policy options on producing and using energy. Despite their different starting points, many of these groups end up backing similar solutions, providing a real opportunity to build coalitions for change.

Which brings us back to the purpose of this survey and of the Planet Forward project: engaging the public in debate and enlisting them in finding solutions. The many proposals on the table in response to our nation's energy problems have one thing in common: not one of them will work without the consent and support of the public.