New poll on Renewable fuels

[Allch Chcar]

I get emails from Growth Energy from time to time about campaigns and their latest news. There's no better way to keep tabs on them. This one looks to be from Fuelsamerica.org and not originally from Growth. There's even an infographic, which I prefer to the usual spiel straight out of a handbook. I have some doubts about the accuracy though, for example; 70% support the RFS and 80% of environmentalists? Does that make the 90% of people I see on the internet to be the loud minority?

Anyway here's the source: POLL: Americans are tired of volatile gas prices, want more renewable fuel | Fuels America


Discuss. Also, please answer the poll because I love them.

[Saskwatchian]

It all depends on wording.

If you asked Amaricans if their should be more renewable fuel OPTIONS most would probably say 'YES'.

If you asked Amaricans if they wanted more ethanol or renewable fuel content in their gasoline a whole lot more would say 'NO'


Renewable energy is cool, but it also needs to be sustainable and economically viable .




EDIT: I skimmed the press release the article is based on. This line caught my attention:

"67% of environmentalists believe the oil industry is to blame for high bas prices compared to 59% of the nation"

It sort of makes me think that the "environmentalists" in question are particularly poorly educated, and a big important renewable fuels coalition should probably hire a proof-reader before they put out press releases.

[rmay635703]

Originally Posted by Saskwatchian

It all depends on wording.

"67% of environmentalists believe the oil industry is to blame for high bas prices compared to 59% of the nation"

It sort of makes me think that the "environmentalists" in question are particularly poorly educated, and a big important renewable fuels coalition should probably hire a proof-reader before they put out press releases.

Or they are very well educated on the history of oil.

The oil industry is definately responsible for creating demand for their product, they are definately responsible for blocking and defaming alternatives over the years. They are even responsible for some of our wars such as some CIA interaction with one paticular country that tried to nationalize foreign owned wells. They are also responsible for the reagan era "middle man" market that was formed to "Reduce prices" They are also responsible for the laws that prop up oil and have huge interactions with many governments, they have been found liable for everything from espionage to usurpery to interferance with a fed courty to damage to federal property over the years.

The "oil" price is much like the china price and is hard to get around, its as high as it can be while being low enough that few bail.

[Saskwatchian]

I guess it depends on your definition of "high bas prices" and "oil industry". It is like blaming the agriculture industry for the high price of bread.


My point was more about the unreliability of surveys as a indicator of public opinion, especially when conducted by an organization with a stake in that opinion. I sort of regret making the quip about the 67% of environmentalists.

[Allch Chcar]

Originally Posted by Saskwatchian

It all depends on wording.

If you asked Amaricans if their should be more renewable fuel OPTIONS most would probably say 'YES'.

If you asked Amaricans if they wanted more ethanol or renewable fuel content in their gasoline a whole lot more would say 'NO'

That's certainly what I believed before I saw this article. It doesn't specifically ask about Ethanol but that's largely what the question about RFS does. There's little doubt in my mind that the RFS brought Ethanol back.

I'm not as negative about Corn because I know once we have an Ethanol infrastructure we can move onto bigger and better things. Right now, it'll work but eventually we'll need more sources to replace large portions of our energy use. I believe hybrid cars can help along with stricter fuel economy standards. Hybrid cars can do a lot without the huge expensive of batteries.

Yeah, I noticed that "high bas prices" too. But hey, "Amaricans."

Originally Posted by rmay635703

Or they are very well educated on the history of oil.

...

The "oil" price is much like the china price and is hard to get around, its as high as it can be while being low enough that few bail.

This is true, for many corporations. Standard oil being the most pungent example I can think of. Their monopoly didn't happen on it's own. They aggressively bought out, pushed out, and undercut competition. Then there's all the Oil companies that invested in renewable research programs or pilot plants. BP and Shell invested in quite a few renewable research programs only to dump their shares and abandon them.

And I 100% agree on the Oil Price. If Gasoline was a dollar higher then alternatives fuels would look more attractive. My family/friends might enjoy cheap gas prices but I see it for what it is, a bad sign.

Edit: I don't know why this thread was posted in Central. I was trying to post in Fossil Free. If this could get moved, I would appreciate it. Thanks.

[redpoint5]

This poll is very poorly worded. You don't ask questions in a poll, you make statements that people vote for as most closely matching their opinion. Further, there are no moderate options.

[Allch Chcar]

Originally Posted by redpoint5

This poll is very poorly worded. You don't ask questions in a poll, you make statements that people vote for as most closely matching their opinion. Further, there are no moderate options.

Sorry but I'm not putting "I don't know" or "I don't care" in there.

I'll try to clarify the wording and phrase them as statements.

Edit: Apparently I can't edit a poll after it's been posted. Never doing that again.

[mikeyjd]

They don't seem to be interrelated or mutually exclusive options. A person could choose just about all of those options without contradicting themselves...

[Daox]

I think you should be able to edit the poll. There is an 'edit poll' link on the upper right hand side of the poll window for me. If you can't, just list out your options and I'll update it for you.

[UFO]

Not only do I support renewable fuel, I use it whenever possible. B100 baby!