What We Believe About Energy
From the Manhattan Institute, some "energy myths" that most Americans they polled believe. Some samples, from their press release:
MYTH: Most of our energy comes from oil.
Nearly two thirds of respondents believed this to be the case.
FACT: In reality, 60 percent of our energy comes from non-oil sources.
Growing electricity use accounts for over 85 percent of growth in our energy demand since 1980; this deserves greater focus from policy-makers and media.
MYTH: Saudi Arabia provides more oil to the United States than does any other foreign country. When asked for the largest source of foreign oil, 55 percent guessed Saudi Arabia.
FACT: Canada provides the USA with more foreign oil than any other country.
An erroneous belief in our dependence on Middle Eastern oil leads to an illegitimate fear of having energy used as an economic weapon against us.…..
MYTH: Our cities are becoming more polluted and our forests are shrinking.
Nearly 84 percent believe cities are increasingly polluted; 67 percent believe logging and development are shrinking our forests.
FACT: Trends suggest that the air in our cities is becoming cleaner and we are
experiencing annual net gains for forest area. Inaccurate assumptions about our environment encourage onerous regulation and limit urban development.
