Despite an increase in general awareness about climate change, only 4 percent of U.S. adults know that buildings are the country's No. 1 source of greenhouse gas emissions, according to a recent poll.
The Green Building Awareness poll conducted by Harris Interactive and commissioned by Autodesk Inc. queried 2,682 people 18 or older in an online survey conducted September 30 to October 6 this year. It follows work by the American Institute of Architects, whose research has identified buildings as the leading source of ghg emissions in the U.S.
The questions asked in the multiple-choice poll included:
- As far as you know, what is the leading source of greenhouse gas emissions in the United States?
- To the best of your knowledge, a design improvement to which of the following items would have the greatest effect on reducing the United States' greenhouse gas emissions? (Just 8 percent answered buildings. The other responses included power plants at 31 percent; SUVs, 17 percent; airplanes, 4 percent; other, 8 percent; and 33 percent responded "not sure."
- Compared to a typical building, do you think the construction of a green (e.g. highly energy efficient) building costs ... ? (Seventy-seven percent answered "more," 42 percent of them said "somewhat more," 35 percent said "a lot more," 9 percent said "about the same," 3 percent said "less" and 11 percents said "not sure."
The survey results emerged as Greenbuild was getting under way. Autodesk, a major supporter of the conference, called for increased efforts to make the American public more aware of the impacts of green building. |
