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ALEXANDRIA, Virginia, US, March 29, 2006
(Refocus Weekly)
A recent national survey in the United States
indicates that 90% of Americans feel that renewable energy is
extremely important and that the government should take a major role
in creating standards to make it happen.
The internet survey of 1,000 registered voters was conducted by
Public Opinion Strategies of Virginia, for the Energy Future
Coalition which sponsored the research for the 25x‘25 Work Group.
The sampling was supported by four focus groups conducted in January
and February. POS claims the margin of error is within 3%.
The 25x’25 Work Group is an energy group dedicated to exploring the
future of energy production, and voters were asked if the group’s
goal of sourcing 25% of the country’s energy from renewables by 2025
could be achieved.
Of respondents, 90% said the vision is achievable and 98% said the
goal is important for the country. A level of 88% support incentives
for renewables and 92% support minimum standards for the private
sector’s use of renewables, while 91% said the U.S. needs “more
ambitious and creative thinking” behind a new energy policy for the
future.
The 90% overall response shows “remarkable support” for the goals of
25x’25, says William McInturff of Public Opinion Strategies.
“Voters’ confidence in American technology leads them to believe
that our nation will find its way out of an impending energy crisis.
Largely because of this immense confidence in our technological
capabilities, voters are supportive of the 25x’25 goal.”
While large majorities answered positively to questions about the
need for renewable energy and a visionary new energy policy,
respondents reflected some reluctance to fund that effort out of
their own pocketbooks, the report notes.
“Voters believe that ‘special interest groups’ are holding the
energy revolution back,” it explains. “Another roadblock to change
has to do with perceived costs of moving to greater reliance on
renewable energy.”
Fifty-three percent of respondents agreed that ‘diversifying the
nation’s energy supply through renewable and alternative energy
sources like hydrogen and ethanol’ represents the future for energy
in America, and national security, economic and technological
arguments emerged among the top arguments for advancing the vision
in the focus group discussions.
On a ten-point scale, voters give energy a mean rating of 8.7 which
puts it on par with other issues such as health care (8.9),
terrorism & national security (8.7), and education (8.7). “While
voters consider energy an important issue, they do not perceive
there to be an immediate crisis facing our country,” with only 35%
believing there is an energy crisis now, compared to 50% who believe
there may be a crisis in the future.
“In communicating the goal of the initiative, arguments about oil
dependence and national security, technological readiness, and
environmental benefits are most effective,” it concludes. “Voters
readily connect our nation’s energy policy to promoting national
security and economic development, and subscribe to the view that a
new energy policy is technologically feasible.”
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