While 63 percent of U.S. consumers agree they are "very concerned" about the effects of climate change or global warming, a wide disparity exists between how greenhouse gas emissions are actually generated and which culprits Americans think are to blame, according to a third-annual national study that evaluates the consumer mindset on energy use and conservation.

As the Shelton Group Energy Pulse 2007 study documents:

- Two-thirds of consumers do not know that most electricity is produced by burning coal, and nineteen percent of consumers erroneously think that hydroelectric generation is the number one source of electricity (the U.S. Energy Information Administration cites that hydro is the source of only three percent of U.S. electricity).

- Less than four percent of consumers name coal-fired electricity production as the biggest man-made contributor to climate issues.

- Nearly 30 percent of consumers think car and truck emissions present the worst man-made cause of global warming / climate change.

"The disconnect American consumers have between climate change issues and their own electricity usage is sobering," said Shelton Group CEO Suzanne Shelton. "Over the years, consumers have been conditioned to think that changing their driving habits is the best way to help the environment, when in reality, the biggest thing they can do is to use less electricity."

According to an EPA report, fossil fuel combustion accounts for 79 percent of greenhouse gas emissions - and of that, electricity generation accounts for 41 percent of CO2, or nearly one-third (32.8 percent) of all greenhouse gases, while transportation (personal cars, diesel trucks, heavy duty vehicles and jet fuel) accounts for 26 percent of greenhouse gas emissions. Personal vehicles account for only 15.7 percent of all greenhouse gas emissions.

Energy Pulse 2007 also documents, however, that the likelihood for consumers to participate in utility green power programs continues to grow. The challenge: the percentage of consumers who said they've actually signed up for green power remains flat, a situation likely due to a finding from previous Energy Pulse studies that most consumers are unaware if their utility offers green power.

Lack of understanding about renewable energy continues to be a factor as well. Energy Pulse 2007 found only 48 percent of consumers could name (unaided) at least one form of renewable energy, although this statistic is actually quite better than in 2005, when only 20 percent of consumers could do so.