Facts and popular perceptions on saving energy and the environment

Abstract

Although today's major concerns are moving to renewable energy and the saving of energy, there are deeper energy-related issues which are less discussed and explored. To what extent can renewable energy take over from conventional sources? How much into the future should we be concerned about? Electricity generation for stationary applications can be from coal, nuclear power, solar power and wind turbines, whereas transportation relies mostly on increasingly scarce oil. Coal and nuclear fuel will be nowhere close to depletion over the next 100 years. Both governments and commercial organizations mostly benefit from increased energy consumption, and cannot be fully relied upon to pursue saving energy and the environment. It is private citizens who are most concerned about saving energy, being concerned about availability in their own lifetimes and that of their children. However, the general public is less aware of the deeper issues involved. The issues of energy and the environment are interdependent on each other, and determine the quality of life for ourselves and our future generations. As the attitude of people to saving energy determines availability (or depletion) for future generations, this paper explores facts vs. public perceptions on energy. A preliminary survey was conducted, which found that there are genuine concerns about saving energy and the environment. Areas where there were misconceptions were identified. Although the sample size was small (<;100), the survey paved they way for a broader survey with a larger sample size.