Most Americans have "failed to keep pace with the realities of today's most
pressing environmental concerns," according to the National Environmental
Education and Training Foundation. In a survey of 2,000 people, the organization
found, for example, that a majority of respondents believed that electricity in
the United States is produced in nonpolluting ways, while only a quarter knew
that oil, coal, and wood generate 70 percent of our energy.
About a third of the
respondents assumed that spent nuclear fuel is stored in a "deep underground
facility in the West," while only 17 percent were aware that the fuel is mostly
stored on-site at power plants pending a long-term solution (a solution that has
been pending since nuclear power was embraced). And more than half of the group
believed that tankers, drilling rigs, or refineries are the primary source of oil
pollution in waterways; 84 percent did not know that the leading source is
improperly discarded automobile oil.
Such misconceptions "threaten to block progress on important environmental
initiatives," says Kevin Coyle, the foundation's president. But Coyle takes heart
in the fact that 71 percent of respondents considered environmental protection
"more important" than economic development, and that an overwhelming majority
said they act to preserve the environment.
With such an eager populace, the onus is on educators (and publications like this
one) to get the facts out. —Reed McManus
(C) 2000 Sierra Club. Reproduction of this article is not permitted without permission. Contact sierra.magazine@sierraclub.org for more information.
