Labeling renewable energies: How the language surrounding biofuels can influence its public acceptance

Despite growing interest and investments in biological fuels, little is known of how the public form opinions toward this alternative fuel technology. This study examines public opinion of biofuels by focusing on several factors that can be expected to influence citizens' opinions about the issue. First, we tested the results of a framing experiment that was embedded within a public opinion survey. This experiment explored how the public responded to the term “biofuels” as compared to the term “ethanol.” Our results suggest that, overall, respondents tended to react more favorably to the former as opposed to the latter term. Second, we examined the impacts of sociodemographics on public attitudes toward biofuels. We found that while sociodemographics did little to consistently explain attitudes toward biofuels there was clear evidence of ideological influences on attitudes, with self-identifying Democrats showing more positive attitudes overall. Finally, we explored the interaction between political partisanship and our experimental manipulation. We found evidence that our wording manipulation differed based on the political party identification of our respondents, with Democrats fluctuating greatly in their assessments depending upon whether they were asked to evaluate “biofuels” or “ethanol.”

► This study tested how the public responds to the terms “biofuels” and “ethanol”.
► Respondents tended to react more favorably to “biofuels” as opposed to “ethanol”.
► Sociodemographics did little to consistently explain biofuels/ethanol attitudes.
► However, Democrats were more positive than Republicans toward biofuels/ethanol.
► Wording manipulation also differed based on respondent political party affiliation.