Poll: Americans See Penguins With Tiki Torches as Huge Problem
by Kenny Luna, North Babylon, NY on 07.20.07
Well, that may be a somewhat humorous take on a huge issue, but the good news is that a majority of American voters in six congressional districts now see global warming as the biggest environmental problem according to a new poll by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC). Seventy-three percent of the voters polled favored immediate measures to reduce carbon emissions with just 19% favoring the idea of waiting for new technologies to solve the crisis. And sixty-three percent of voters polled support the idea of placing mandatory limits on emissions from power plants through a cap-and-trade system that allows trading in carbon pollution permits to help make that happen. By a measure of 50 to 25 percent, voters polled said that pollution permits should be sold to U.S. companies with the revenues dedicated to funding new energy saving technologies, and protecting consumers and displaced workers. Clearly, the greater percentage of those polled do not want to see the permits given to U.S. companies for free…
When the poll asked them about other ways to reduce global warming pollution the top of the list in every district featured requiring appliance manufacturers to make more energy-efficient products and providing the public with incentives to invest in solar energy and better insulation. Simple steps that can make a huge difference, but only with legislative action to make them happen. And that’s where the fact that the six congressional districts chosen happen to belong to six members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee comes into play. They’ll be considering legislation to reduce global warming emissions in the fall, and hopefully the results of this study will help spur them to push for clear action to help slow down the climate crisis.
