Americans Get It Wrong, Point To Cars & Trucks As Largest GHG Source

October 4, 2007

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Thirty-five percent of Americans think road transportation is the single largest consumer of energy in the U.S, according to John Manville’s Energy Awareness Month Survey (via Building Green TV). By comparison, only 12 percent of respondents said that residential buildings ranked as the single largest U.S. energy consumer. The largest number of respondents, 44 percent, also said that road transportation ranked as the largest contributor of greenhouse gas emissions, while only four percent said it was residential buildings and six percent said commercial buildings.

John Manville says that in reality, the U.S. residential sector ranks as the single largest energy consumer in the world, and homes worldwide account for 25 percent of total energy use. In addition, JM says that residential and commercial buildings are responsible for almost half, 48 percent, of greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S.

“Many homeowners don’t realize that a typical house releases almost twice as much carbon dioxide annually as a typical car,” said Kateri Callahan, president of the Alliance to Save Energy. “But when you consider the energy needed for heating, cooling, lighting and appliances, it becomes apparent that today’s homes can be real ‘?energy guzzlers.’ The good news is that there are ample opportunities for homeowners to assess their homes’ energy use. Energy-efficiency upgrades not only reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions, but also lower home energy bills.”

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