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Poll Shows Some Americans Plan to Drive Less after BP Oil Spill

  • May 10, 2010

More than one in five Americans plan to drive less, following the recent oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, according to a national survey by the Shelton Group. In addition, one in eight Americans plan to stop buying British Petroleum (BP) gas altogether.

The survey, which polled 1,312 consumers across the country, found 20.1 percent of Americans said they will reduce their gas consumption in response to the oil spill, while 13.2 percent said they would stop buying BP gas. The study, conducted May 3 and 4, has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.08 percent.

“For years our research has shown America is a see-it-to-believe-it nation. Before we make changes, we need to see things with our own eyes or have a personal connection to something. If Americans start seeing a lot of oil-covered pelicans or dying dolphins, these numbers will likely go even higher,” said Suzanne Shelton, president of Shelton Group, the advertising agency that conducted the study.

“One of our recent studies showed driving is one of the hardest things for Americans to give up for the environment. Our lives are built around our cars,” Shelton added. “It may take a major disaster for us to change our driving habits, and, unfortunately, this may be that major disaster.”

Among the survey’s other findings:

  • The combined impact of the oil spill and the recent mine disaster in West Virginia has caused more than two in every five Americans, or 41.7 percent, to think about the “human and environmental costs” associated with their own energy consumption.
  • About three in 10 Americans ─ 28 percent ─ said the spill has made them dislike BP, but their “opinion might improve if they can do more to clean up the mess and make amends.”
  • One in five – 20.5 percent – said they now doubt BP's "Beyond Petroleum" slogan and believe it is not really a green company.
  • The good news for BP: 37.5 percent said it had not affected their opinion of the company in any way. And 17.4 percent said it makes them “respect the company for taking responsibility for the accident and clean-up.”
  • More than a third of Americans, or 35.5 percent, said the spill “was a terrible accident, but our country's need for domestic oil makes the possibility of such accidents an acceptable risk.”
  • Twenty-one percent said, “It was a terrible accident waiting to happen, and offshore drilling in the Gulf should be halted.”

“The jury is still out for BP in terms of its ability to move forward and start rebuilding its reputation as an environmentally responsible company,” Shelton said. “There is immense risk that consumers’ anger toward BP will grow as the damage to the ocean and coastline grows.”

Comments

Fri, May 14, 2010

But, If they stop buying the product, then the government might fund more green tech, like wind energy, sun energy and water energy.

Thu, May 13, 2010

The execs. are listening to the lawyers with respect to any public admission of error/responsibility. My auto insurance company, and even most drivers ed. classes, advise against making responsibilty statements after an accident, even under the most obvious cases of fault.. And my recollection is there was plenty of finger pointing by NASA and contractors after Challenger.

Wed, May 12, 2010 Wade

I tend to disagree with Don of California. I would be more likely to agree if BP had take an iota of responsibility in this tragedy during the US Senate hearings on May 11, Instead, their representative said ALL of the problem was due to Halliburton and TransOcean. Having worked in that industry for 3 years, and based on my other engineering experience, I find it difficult to comprehend how BP could be blameless as they claim they are. As for correcting the problem, my only thoughts are that I am glad these folks were not in Mission Control when Apollo 13 had a malfunction. They would be all pointing fingers at each other, and doing little, if nothing, to solve the issues.

Tue, May 11, 2010 Don, Calif

America, EP, and the rest of the press, take a deep breath, please! A tragedy has occured, and people paid with their lives,...but...there is no evidence that BP was negligent in its operation, at least not yet. The well is state of the science in a very difficult and dangerous environment to work in. From what is apparently known, the well was completed and they were getting ready to move off. It apparently blew before they knew there was a problem. A tradegy, Yes! So, let BP correct the problem. Lets not beat them down until we know what really happened. If you don't buy their product, then they may not be able to correct the problem. BP is not the only company in this business and we DO need the resource to keep our country strong. Everyone will learn from this, and we will do a better job in the future.

Tue, May 11, 2010 Janice

Let's hope this is really true. . . sometimes it takes forever for people to do the right thing.

Mon, May 10, 2010 Bluejeans Chicago

Americans plan to drive less. Oh, please. There are a ton of relevant topics to write about re this disaster. A few Americans talking out the side of their mouths hardly ranks among the top ones.

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