New Energy Survey Shows doubt over effects of climate change

Survey reveals that while more of us are adopting better energy habits, scepticism remains about global warming and the extent to which individuals make a difference




Hampshire 26 October 2010: A new domestic energy survey by Current Cost, the largest global provider of energy monitoring real time displays (RTDs), has shown that while most householders in the UK are generally concerned about the environment, negativity about environmental responsibility and the view that the ability of individuals to make much of a difference is limited still prevails.





When asked ‘do you believe that you can have an impact on reducing the global carbon footprint,’ 75% of respondents agreed that they could, while 26% either disagreed or were unsure, indicating a significant level of scepticism and confusion.





When asked about their views on global warming, the majority (52%) claimed that they did what they could to minimise their impact on the environment and 19% said that they were concerned about the effects of global warming. A further 20%, however, said that they believed global warming and its likely effects have been exaggerated.





More positively, the survey, which was conducted amongst a range of domestic electricity users from across the country, showed that people in the UK are becoming increasingly more responsible when it comes to reducing energy wastage, with 67% of us claiming to always switch off lights when we leave a room and 80% always waiting for a full load before switching on the dishwasher. Our worst habits are sometimes boiling more water than needed (51%) and leaving appliances on standby (60%).





Current Cost, who commissioned the survey, manufactures simple, inexpensive real time displays that highlight the amount of energy being wasted around the home, allowing householders to take immediate steps to cut back on unnecessary usage and cut the cost of their electricity bill.





“It’s great that more people seem to be making an effort to make energy savings,” says Current Cost managing director, Martin Dix. “The aim of the real time displays is not to change the way you live but simply to provide information so that you know when and where you are wasting it. Cutting back on the amount of electricity that you use unnecessarily can really help to cut the cost of energy bills.”