Survey Shows Strong Support for Clean Energy and the Clean Power Plan
Washington, D.C. –-(ENEWSPF)–November 21, 2014. Today, the Sierra Club released the results of a new post-election poll conducted by Hart Research Associates showing that, regardless of whom they supported, voters in six key states in the 2014 midterm elections want the next Congress to act on the climate crisis now. The new poll sampled 500 voters in North Carolina, Iowa, Colorado, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, and Michigan just after the midterm elections to gauge how climate and clean energy policy played in key Senate and Governor’s races while determining the course voters want their elected officials to plot on these issues in the months and years to come.
Whether coming from a state now represented in the Senate by a Republican or a Democrat, the results are consistent. In North Carolina, fully 64 percent of voters want Senator-elect Thom Tillis to support efforts to protect communities from climate disruption. Sixty-eight percent said the same of Senator-elect Joni Ernst in Iowa, while 69 percent agreed when it comes to Colorado’s Senator-Elect Gardner – including majorities of Republicans and Democrats in those states.
“These findings make it clear that no matter which party they identify with or who they supported in the midterm elections, voters did not vote for dirty air, dirty water, or climate denial,” said Sierra Club Executive Director Michael Brune. “Large majorities of voters support the President’s plan to cut carbon pollution from power plants and want policies to grow our nation’s clean energy economy. Politicians from statehouses to Congress better listen up.”
In fact, this new poll shows that at least 64 percent of voters in each state polled favor the Environmental Protection Agency’s plan to limit carbon emissions from power plants for the first time ever, while at least 63 percent in each state indicated they are more likely to support a candidate who wants to increase the use of renewable energy.
Highlights from the findings:
At least 64 percent of voters in each state want their Senator to address the effects of climate change — with a high of 69 percent in Colorado. The same is true of 52 percent of Republicans in Iowa, 50 percent of Republicans in Colorado, and 49 percent (a plurality) of Republicans in North Carolina.
The EPA’s plan to limit carbon emissions from power plants is broadly supported, with at least 64 percent of those polled in each state favoring the Clean Power Plan.
Voters in each state prefer candidates who support increasing the use of renewable energy, rather than traditional energy. At least 63 percent in each state would back clean energy candidates — with a high of 73 percent in Iowa.
At least 63 percent of voters in each state favor candidates who accept the scientific consensus on climate disruption over those who do not.
This poll was conducted as part of a battleground state survey by Hart Research Associates for The Sierra Club. Approximately 500 voters in each of six states — including Colorado, Iowa, Michigan, New Hampshire, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania – were interviewed via landline and cell phone between November 6 and 10, immediately following the mid-term elections. The margin of error is ±4 percentage points for each statewide sample.
Source: www.sierraclub.org
