According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), the amount of subsidies to the fossil fuel industry topped $409 billion worldwide in 2010 (see chart), an estimated $12 billion of which goes to domestic suppliers. Such subsides help keep the consumer cost of gasoline, heating oil, natural gas, and coal-produced electricity at artificially low prices and perpetuate the delusion of affordability. “It’s a smokescreen to consumers,” says Edward Mazria of Architecture 2030. “All they see is their monthly utility bill or the price at the pump, not where their tax dollars go [to subsidies].” While Mazria and others would like to see such subsidies eliminated or redirected to renewable energy industries, at the very least their impact should be made public. “If we had a level playing field, it would be another driver to change,” says Mazria.