Wednesday, August 18, 2010
American ignorance of efficiency numbers might be the biggest hurdle to cleaner cars
Filed under: MPG, Green Daily, USA
Math isn't appreciated enough in our society. As a big fan of the "I'm an English Major, You do the math" shirt, I'll admit I'm part of the problem. We can all agree, though, that it's hugely important to "get" basic mathematical concepts, especially when it comes to understanding energy efficiency (like miles per gallon). Trouble is, too many Americans don't have this knowledge.
This is the finding of a new study called "Public perceptions of energy consumption and savings" published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The study's authors say that people underestimate the energy saving potential of big changes - like driving a more efficient car - and overestimate the impact of little things like turning off lights. One slightly surprising finding: respondents with "stronger proenvironmental attitudes" understood energy savings better than others.
From the study's opening summary:
In a national online survey, 505 participants reported their perceptions of energy consumption and savings for a variety of household, transportation, and recycling activities. When asked for the most effective strategy they could implement to conserve energy, most participants mentioned curtailment (e.g., turning off lights, driving less) rather than efficiency improvements (e.g., installing more efficient light bulbs and appliances), in contrast to experts' recommendations. For a sample of 15 activities, participants underestimated energy use and savings by a factor of 2.8 on average, with small overestimates for low-energy activities and large underestimates for high-energy activities. Additional estimation and ranking tasks also yielded relatively flat functions for perceived energy use and savings. Across several tasks, participants with higher numeracy scores and stronger proenvironmental attitudes had more accurate perceptions. The serious deficiencies highlighted by these results suggest that well-designed efforts to improve the public's understanding of energy use and savings could pay large dividends.Oh, can anyone help us understand the chart above? Our math skill aren't up to it (j/k)
[Source: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences via Earth Institute and Green Car Congress]
Math isn't appreciated enough in our society. As a big fan of the "I'm an English Major, You do the math" shirt, I'll admit I'm part of the problem. We can all agree, though, that it's hugely important to "get" basic mathematical concepts, especially when it comes to understanding energy efficiency (like miles per gallon). Trouble is, too many Americans don't have this knowledge.
This is the finding of a new study called "Public perceptions of energy consumption and savings" published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The study's authors say that people underestimate the energy saving potential of big changes - like driving a more efficient car - and overestimate the impact of little things like turning off lights. One slightly surprising finding: respondents with "stronger proenvironmental attitudes" understood energy savings better than others. From the study's opening summary:
In a national online survey, 505 participants reported their perceptions of energy consumption and savings for a variety of household, transportation, and recycling activities. When asked for the most effective strategy they could implement to conserve energy, most participants mentioned curtailment (e.g., turning off lights, driving less) rather than efficiency improvements (e.g., installing more efficient light bulbs and appliances), in contrast to experts' recommendations. For a sample of 15 activities, participants underestimated energy use and savings by a factor of 2.8 on average, with small overestimates for low-energy activities and large underestimates for high-energy activities. Additional estimation and ranking tasks also yielded relatively flat functions for perceived energy use and savings. Across several tasks, participants with higher numeracy scores and stronger proenvironmental attitudes had more accurate perceptions. The serious deficiencies highlighted by these results suggest that well-designed efforts to improve the public's understanding of energy use and savings could pay large dividends.Oh, can anyone help us understand the chart above? Our math skill aren't up to it (j/k)
[Source: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences via Earth Institute and Green Car Congress]
Continue reading American ignorance of efficiency numbers might be the biggest hurdle to cleaner cars
American ignorance of efficiency numbers might be the biggest hurdle to cleaner cars originally appeared on Autoblog Green on Wed, 18 Aug 2010 11:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>
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