REPORT: Energy in the American Mind -- December 2018
By Anthony Leiserowitz, Edward Maibach, Seth Rosenthal, John Kotcher, Abel Gustafson, Parrish Bergquist, Matthew Ballew and Matthew Goldberg
Executive Summary
Drawing on a nationally representative survey (N = 1,114; including 966 registered voters), this report describes Americans’ energy-related beliefs, attitudes, consumer behaviors, and support for different energy policies. Among other important results, we found strong bipartisan support for requiring electric utilities to use 100% clean, renewable energy, that a majority of Americans say transitioning to clean, renewable energy will benefit the economy, and that support for renewable energy research has increased by 30 percentage points among conservative Republicans over the past five years.Beliefs and Attitudes about Clean, Renewable Energy
- Most Americans consider both “clean energy” and “renewable energy” to be good things. Liberal Democrats were more likely to rate the term “clean energy” (99%) positively than “renewable energy” (83%), while conservative Republicans were more likely to rate the term “renewable energy” (63%) positively than “clean energy” (46%).
- About six in ten Americans consider coal energy (62%) to be “moderately” or more harmful to people’s health. Democrats (76%) are more likely than Republicans (57%) to say that coal is harmful. About half of Americans (53%) say nuclear energy is harmful. In contrast, almost no Americans think solar (5%) or wind energies (5%) are harmful to people’s health.
- A majority of Americans (58%) – including three in four Democrats (75%) – think policies intended to transition from fossil fuels to clean, renewable energy will improve economic growth and create new jobs. Only 18% of Americans – and 7% of Democrats – think such policies will reduce growth and jobs. More Republicans think such a transition will improve economic growth (39%) than reduce it (31%).
- Americans’ most important reasons to support a transition to 100% clean, renewable energy are reducing water pollution (75%), reducing air pollution (74%), and providing a better life for our children and grandchildren (72%).
- About seven in ten Americans (71%; including 87% of Democrats and 51% of Republicans) think clean energy should be a “high” or “very high” priority for the president and Congress. Very few Americans (7%, including 3% of Democrats and 11% of Republicans) think it should be a “low” priority.
- A majority of Americans (61%) – including about eight in ten Democrats (79%) – think that if all nations switch to 100% clean, renewable energy by 2050, it will be “moderately” or “very” effective at limiting global warming.
