Environmental Leader

Seventy-six percent of Americans feel it’s extremely important that their electric utility offers power produced from renewable sources, according to Energy Pulse, a study from the Shelton Group, a marketing company. So important, in fact, that 56 percent agreed that utilities should charge a small fee to all of their customers to cover the cost of renewable energy generation. And while only four percent are currently enrolled in such a program, 44 percent say they would be likely to participate in their utility’s green power program if offered.

According to the study, most U.S. consumers (29 percent) blame the U.S. government for rising energy prices, while only 21 percent say that oil companies are to blame.

Seventy percent of Americans say their energy costs have risen from 10 percent to 50 percent in the last year, and 63 percent say they’ve made changes to reduce their consumption as a result.

Eighty-eight percent of those surveyed consider energy conservation to be important to very important, and they’re more aware of what renewable energy is. In fact, 42 percent of Americans can now name at least one form -? up from only 20 percent last year.

However, 65 percent of Americans say that people don’t do more to conserve energy because it’s too hard to change habits. Sixty-four percent say it’s because there is not enough information available.