Energy Policy: Armed with the Facts

A post by "J. Mal" To see more posts click here

A hot topic in America is the importance of a new policy on energy use.  Many people will use tag lines and distorted opinions in order to gain favor for their position on the issues.  It turns out however, when the truth is revealed, most people don’t really know the facts (really?) and often support policies that have no factual basis.

In a recent survey done by TheManhattan Institute, researcher Drew Thornley sought to find out what 1,000 Americans believe when it comes to America’s use of energy.  Thornley’s study “Energy & the Environment: Myths & Facts” revealed that many Americans had very strong beliefs on certain U.S. energy issues that were flat out wrong.

You can see Thornley discussing his article in a video by CSPAN’s Washington Journal program here.

Late in his article, Thornley puts forth facts about current energy use and its impact.  Below are just a few of the myths that he researched.  First I’ll pose the questions for you, and see how much you know:

What country provides the most oil to the U.S.?

The U.S. imported 58.2% of its petroleum (including crude oil) and Canada is the #1 country we import from

What percentage of imported oil comes from the Middle East?

Only 16.1% of all imports came from Persian Gulf countries

What percentage of carbon emissions is from humans burning fossil fuel?

The burning of fossil fuels is responsible for just 3.27% of the carbon dioxide that enters the atmosphere each year, while the biosphere and oceans account for 55.28% and 41.46%, respectively.

Other hot button items in Thornley’s article include: green jobs, deforestation, landfills, air pollution, nuclear power, off-shore drilling, global warming, greenhouse gases, foreign oil,  and future energy needs.

What this study shows me is that while we do need to find ways to use renewable resources and help make this planet a better place to live, the media perception and political posturing is not backed by very much sound information.  It amounts to little more than scare tactics.  When we hear people on the campaign trail shouting for an end to reliance on foreign oil, is Canada really the country that people have in mind? Or is it rhetoric that conjures up images of Osama Bin Laden hoarding oil?

If we cut back our global 3.27% human impact on carbon emissions is that really going to stop the global warming issue?  Global warming is a real concern, but if we think that by just cutting back on human contribution we will solve the problem, we are very wrong.

You should either watch the CSPAN video or read the article to inform yourself.  If you don’t have the time, just browse the article summary.  It goes into a lot more detail and gives many more examples of mainstream myths about energy.  It opened my eyes to a lot of truths that I would have otherwise never known about energy consumption and environmental impacts of our energy use.

Environmental concerns are very real and in no way am I trying to marginalize their impact.  My main point is that people need to do more research before they take someone’s opinion as fact.

Take it for what it’s worth and as always

…udothedishes

P.S.  If you have some good info you’d like to share about energy and/or the enrvironment, please post links below…my brain loves to eat and I always clean my plate.