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Monday, September 12, 2011

What Americans Want

And Our Politicians Don't Do


Wiley cartoon on polling
 ~ A new study of public attitudes by party shows surprising agreement on a number of issues. Majorities of voters, whether self-identifying as a Democrat, Republican, Independent or member of the Tea Party, told researchers that they
  • Support funding more research into renewable energy sources such as solar and wind power
  • Support providing tax rebates for people who purchase energy efficient vehicles or solar panels
  • Support local regulations requiring new homes to be more energy efficient
  • Support the construction of bike paths on city streets
  • Support increasing the availability of public transportation in their county
  • Believe protecting the environment either improves economic growth and provides new jobs or has no effect on economic growth or jobs
  • Trust scientists as a source of information about global warming
  • Support expansion of offshore drilling for oil and natural gas off the U.S. coast
So why is that, except for the last item, our politicians appear unable to advance any of these things?
The study was conducted by the Yale Project on Climate Change Communication and the George Mason University Center for Climate Change Communication, and was funded by the Surdna Foundation, the 11th Hour Project, and the Grantham Foundation for the Protection of the Environment.

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