Swing State Voters Support Renewable Energy Legislation
September 12th, 2009 by Susan Kraemer
Looks like even Swing State voters are now lining up with environmentalists in support of renewable energy.
Two polls last month found public support remains very strong for legislation to help us move towards renewable energy and climate protection.
A Washington Post poll in August among a random national sample of 1,001 adults found that solar and wind power enjoy near-universal support; 9 in 10 people support funding further development. More than 8 in 10 favor requirements for greater fuel efficiency. Broad majorities also favor requiring increased energy conservation from businesses and consumers.
In a second poll in 16 battleground states; a Center For American Progress poll also found surprisingly strong support for renewable energy legislation, even in swing states among likely registered voters.
63% of the swing state voters support a bill increasing spending on renewable energy and just 30% oppose it.
Democrats are solidly in support of the bill (85% support /14% oppose) while
Independents support ACES by solid margins (59% support / 30% oppose)
Republicans are more mixed in their opposition (43% support / 49% oppose).
60% would be more likely to re-elect Senators who vote in favor of the bill, with 26% less likely
52% would be less likely to re-elect Senators who vote against the bill, with 31% more likely.
36% agreed with: “Some people say this bill is nothing more than a “job killing energy tax” that represents the biggest tax increase in American history – and that it will destroy jobs and raisemiddle class families’ energy bills by at least a thousand dollars.
They say even Obama admits that families’ energy bills would “skyrocket.” The last thing our economy needs right now is another big Washington program reaching into taxpayers’ pockets and killing jobs across the
country.”
But 51% agreed with: “Other people say that America spends a billion dollars a day on foreign oil. Our over-reliance on oil from hostile nations hurts our economy, helps our enemies, and puts our national security at risk.
We need renewable energy sources – that are made in America and work for America. We should never have let ourselves grow so dependent on countries that hate us, and this bill is a first step in correcting that.”
Via ThinkProgress
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About the Author
Susan Kraemer writes at CleanTechnica, CSP-Today, PV-Insider , SmartGridUpdate, and GreenProphet. She has also been published at Ecoseed, NRDC OnEarth, MatterNetwork, Celsius, EnergyNow, and Scientific American. As a former serial entrepreneur in product design, Susan brings an innovator's perspective on inventing a carbon-constrained civilization: If necessity is the mother of invention, solving climate change is the mother of all necessities! As a lover of history and sci-fi, she enjoys chronicling the strange future we are creating in these interesting times. Follow Susan on Twitter @dotcommodity.
