March 2007

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Most Americans don’t understand the connection between their own electricity use and global warming, a new report says. Research commissioned by EnviroMedia Social Marketing, Austin, TX, found that only a minority of Americans understand that burning coal to make power contributes to adverse climate change. “More Americans have no idea what fuels their electricity than those who can name any particular source - either correctly or incorrectly,” the group’s CEO Valerie Davis says. “If you don’t know leaving the lights on likely means you’re burning more coal than you need to, you probably don’t realize just how much your household decisions contribute to global warming.” The survey, conducted by Opinion Research Corp. in mid-January found 35% of interviewees didn’t know what fuel is used to generate electricity while another 23% simply said electricity comes from electricity or from the electric company. Only 16% cited coal, America’s primary energy source for electricity generation. Said EnviroMedia president Kevin Tuerff, “we realize that coal’s an abundant and relatively inexpensive fuel source, but Americans must do more to slow global warming by wasting less electricity and choosing renewable power when they can.” On the positive side, the group’s research indicated that most Americans are willing to phase in compact fluorescent light bulbs and are already using them: 30% said they’d be willing to use them, and a “surprising” 31% said they are already using them.

Contact: EnviroMedia Social Marketing, Kelli Johnson 512/476-4368, ext. 310; kjohnson@enviromedia.com