Less and less Americans across all partisan groups view the energy situation in the U.S. as critical or "very serious," according to recent poll data released by Gallup on Friday.
Data from their annual environmental and energy issues poll conducted early March reveals that fewer than three in 10 Americans (28%) view the energy situation in the U.S. as “very serious,” reportedly the lowest figure “in Gallup’s history of asking the question” since 2002.
According to Gallup, “This figure peaked in May 2001 on the heels of California's rolling blackouts... But by 2002, that number had fallen to its lowest point, with 22% calling the situation very serious. These two data points straddle the events of 9/11, so the 2002 low may be related to a shift in the attention Americans were paying to the issue. Since then, the percentage has reached as high as 46%, but has been consistently down during the past four years...”
Since 2011, the percentage saying the energy situation is very serious has fallen from 45% to 28%, while the percentage saying the energy situation is not serious has grown from 7% to 20%.
“In addition to the 28% who say the energy situation is very serious, 50% say it is fairly serious, and 20% not at all serious,” Gallup says.
Over the past four years, perceptions of the energy situation as critical or “very serious” have reportedly fallen among Republicans, Independents, and Democrats alike.
“The latest drop is largely attributable to Democrats, 29% of whom say it is very serious, down 11 percentage points from 2014. Meanwhile, independents' (28%) and Republicans' (29%) views have held steady,” reports Gallup.
"The large majority of Americans continue to view the situation with some degree of seriousness," Gallup says. "That may be because energy has a direct impact on Americans' daily lives, so it is hard to dismiss it as unimportant, regardless of the country's current energy situation."
"Still, right now, Americans are less concerned about the U.S. energy situation than they have been at nearly all times over the past four decades," Gallup finds.
Might this drop in concern have to do with Americans' changing attitudes toward the global warming narrative?
Chief scientist and Greenpeace USA co-founder Dr. Patrick Moore seems unconvinced with the argument of climate change, calling it a "powerful political force" for key elites, politicians, and businesses who want to "look green, and get huge public subsidies for projects that would otherwise be economic losers, such as wind farms and solar arrays."