Survey finds most Americans
view global warming, clean energy as priorities
By
Kathleen Hart
A
majority of Americans said the president and Congress should make global
warming and developing clean energy a medium or high priority,
researchers at Yale University and George Mason University found in a
survey released Nov. 13.
More
than 75% of Americans said that global warming should be a priority for
the president and Congress, with 18% saying it should be a very high
priority, 25% a high priority and 34% a medium priority. Only 23% of
those surveyed said it should be a low priority, according to the
survey.
A
majority of Americans said the president and Congress should make
developing sources of clean energy a priority, with 31% saying it should
be a very high priority, 38% a high priority and 23% a medium priority.
Only 8% said developing clean energy sources should be a low priority.
The results are based on a national survey conducted Aug. 31-Sept. 12 by
the Yale Project on Climate Change Communication and the George Mason
University Center for Climate Change Communication.
About
61% of Americans surveyed said the U.S. should reduce its own greenhouse
gas emissions regardless of what other countries do. Just 9% said the
U.S. should reduce its emissions only if other countries do, while 6%
said the U.S. should not reduce its greenhouse gas emissions.
Most
Americans said they support more research into renewable energy,
providing tax rebates for energy-efficient cars or solar panels, and
regulating carbon dioxide as a pollutant. Fully 73% of Americans said
they support funding more research into renewable energy sources as well
as providing tax rebates for people who purchase energy-efficient
vehicles or solar panels.
A
majority of Americans, 66%, said they support regulating CO2 as a
pollutant.
A
majority of those surveyed, 59%, said they support eliminating all
subsidies for the fossil-fuel industry. However, 58% said they support
expanding offshore drilling for oil and natural gas off the U.S. coast.
Some
78% of Americans surveyed said that in the future, the U.S. should use
renewable energy sources such as solar, wind and geothermal more than
the nation does today, with 56% saying much more and 22% saying somewhat
more.
Few Americans familiar with fracking
The
survey found that few Americans have heard or read much about hydraulic
fracturing, with most of those surveyed undecided about whether they
support it. Only 9% of Americans said they have heard or read "a lot"
about fracking; 22% said they have heard or read "some" about it; and
16% said they have heard or read "a little" about it. More than
one-third of Americans, 39%, said they have never heard or read about
fracking, while 14% responded "don't know/refused."
When
provided with the definition of fracking as "a way to extract natural
gas from shale rock deep underground," 22% of Americans said they
support it and 20% said they oppose it, according to the survey. A
majority, 58%, said they were undecided or "don't know."
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