For those of you who watched the second debate between Governor Mitt Romney and President Barack Obama, you’ll have heard something that hasn’t come out of the mouth of a presidential candidate in quite some time: ethanol. During discussion on energy policy, candidates typically use the term biofuels – a seemingly less taboo word as criticism surrounds “ethanol”.

How much of the energy debate did you understand? Quite a bit if you read this blog and are an energy enthusiast like myself. However, I suspect, and I’m not alone, that the average American is bordering on energy illiterate.

Cassidy & Associates have a question themselves: do voters know the difference between renewable energy and fossil fuel? A new infographic show that Americans might be running on empty when it comes to basic facts relating energy and illustrates clear partisan perspectives on its production.

“There’s no election season gimmickry here. This should be a splash of cold water reality to boardrooms across America especially as Washington looks to smarter energy investments that deliver the best results for tax-payer dollars,” mused Cassidy & Associates CEO Gerry Cassidy when posting news of the new InfoGraphic to his LinkedIn profile.

Running on Empty pulls together information gathered from studies and polls from nonpartisan organizations such as Public Agenda and the Associated Press.

Cassidy added, “The uncertainty of understanding beyond the Beltway on this, and other priority issues, should be an abrupt reminder that managing your Washington risk has never been more important and the only successful way to do that is to be fully engaged in the public policy process.”