Public Opinion

The more and more research I conduct on the topic of environmental impact on the job market and business world I have many new questions and ideas that arise. I believe it is very important to hear the general public’s opinion on these questions. I sent out a survey to fifty people in my phone contact list and received 40 responses. The survey included the following questions.

Why do you think businesses have not yet switched to one hundred percent renewable energy sources?:

Most of the answers ran along the lines that renewable energy resources are too expensive and are not reliable sources of energy. I found these responses interesting because I believe these answers were due to the lack of knowledge these participants had on renewable energy sources. Renewable energy sources may be costly at the beginning of the investment, but in the long run, they always pay off and can even make you a profit. Renewable energy sources such as solar panels can produce excess energy, enough to the point where electric companies will compensate you for the extra energy.

How will new renewable energy sources affect change future job trends?:

Many of the participants in the survey stated that it will lead to an increase in job opportunities for people around the world. Interestingly enough, one of the participants landed a job due to a new renewable energy source. The participant has been working within the electric car company known as Tesla. He is a mechanical engineer and expressed how many new jobs Tesla has provided to people in different areas of work. Tesla hired people of all kinds of work such as engineers, financial advisors, and mechanics.

The final question I asked was:

If businesses and corporations do not switch to renewable energy sources soon, what will happen in the future?:

The responses of the participants were very interesting. Most of the participants expressed how it will damage the environment, but a select few spoke about how it will not only damage the environment but also damage the future of jobs. One participant brought up how if the environment is destroyed, agriculture would also be destroyed which would greatly harm the job market. Agriculture makes up about 33% of the global GDP. If the agricultural business was destroyed, millions of people around the world would be out of work.

This survey was a great help to my research because I believe the opinion of the general public is very important to my research.