Perhaps the most telling question, however, was how much Utahns would be willing to increase their electric bills to help find ways to reduce greenhouse emissions. The most popular answer was 1 to 10 percent of the bill (52 percent). No increase is preferred by 22 percent. Eleven percent to 20 percent, said 18 percent of those surveyed. Only 3 percent were willing to see electricity bills go up by more than 20 percent.

The results show a willingness to change lifestyles — but not by a great deal.

Generating power

Among the large-scale technological approaches to global warming that are most often discussed, only one — nuclear power — does not require substantial lifestyle changes or technology development. Yet many researchers believe the answer lies in a diversification of energy sources.

Ranking high among the coal-powered alternatives is carbon sequestration.

"Carbon sequestration is one of the most promising ways for reducing the buildup of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere," the U.S. Department of Energy reports on one of its Internet sites.

"In fact, even under the most optimistic scenarios for energy efficiency gains and the greater use of low- or no-carbon fuels, sequestration will likely be essential if the world is to stabilize atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases at acceptable levels."

One scenario is to convert coal to a synthetic gas, run the gas through a turbine to generate power, strip the carbon dioxide from the effluent, and pump the gas underground. It would be held in a geological repository, such as a salt dome, where it must be safely stored.

If gas were to leak from a repository, the danger might be severe. Any concentrated gas other than oxygen can be fatal. Carbon dioxide erupting from a lake in the African nation of Cameroon in 1986 reportedly killed 1,700 people.

Rich Walje, president of Rocky Mountain Power, favors a portfolio of options to generate electricity. They include wind, geothermal, biomass, coal, natural gas and solar power, as well as some new technologies.

Nuclear power might be in the picture for Rocky Mountain Power, which is considering someday building a plant. But when asked if Utah would be a site, he noted that the state is "heavily dependent upon coal-fired generation," with 84 percent of its kilowatt-hours coming from coal and 12 percent from natural gas. That seems to indicate the state is not a likely candidate for a nuclear plant anytime soon.

Questions about how fast new technologies can be developed, and how expensive they will be, are concerns to Walje.