Finding accurate facts about geothermal energy can be difficult due to conflicting information. To increase reliability, consider the source and bias, follow the money, look for ample supporting evidence, and consider the age of the information.
There is a lot of conflicting information available on geothermal energy, which can make finding the most accurate facts about geothermal energy difficult. There are a number of steps people can take to increase the reliability of geothermal energy facts, and these same steps can be used when evaluating information about other topics. Learning to sift through available information and determine what is accurate and what is not is a valuable skill.
The first thing to think about is the source of the facts. Everyone has a bias, and a bias isn’t necessarily a bad thing, as long as you are aware of the nature of the bias. Government facts, for example, may be heavily biased towards geothermal energy, because governments often want to promote alternative energy sources. Conversely, the facts of a utility company that relies heavily on coal power can be tilted against geothermal energy.
When evaluating bias, people should also consider how overtly stated the bias is. A number of organizations sneakily hide the bias behind the facts they provide by offering facts through third party organizations. When looking at any group or organization providing information, people should always follow the money, looking to see who is funding the organization and who stands to gain from the information being provided. If the geothermal facts come from a group funded primarily by an organization promoting a different alternative energy source, for example, they may not be very reliable. Likewise, the facts of a geothermal energy supplier are equally unreliable.
Citations are also valuable. Facts are more reliable when they are backed by ample supporting evidence, including evidence from very different sources. A list of geothermal energy facts that is based on only two or three sources is not very reliable. A list that provides a broad range of sources, including multiple sources that support the same claim, tends to be more reliable. Again, source bias must be considered, which may require following the money through several levels. For example, the facts about geothermal energy could be supported by 15 “scientific studies” all done by the same organization and paid for by the same people, in which case the facts would not be very balanced.
Another thing to consider is the age of the information provided in any document that discusses the facts about geothermal energy. The older the data, the less likely it is to be accurate, as understanding of geothermal energy is steadily increasing and the market share of geothermal energy is constantly evolving. If a document makes a statement such as “67% of Icelanders use geothermal energy for heating and cooking,” this information is meaningless without a date and source to back up the claim. Similarly, a statement like “geothermal energy is 43% more efficient than solar energy” is meaningless without a date and discussion of the specific technology to be compared, not just the energy sources.
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