As Republican presidential candidates have amassed to begin the gauntlet of debate leading up to the bid for the next conservative challenger to the White House, the environment, or specifically global warming, has gotten its fair share of frontage. Almost unanimously, the GOP candidates’ attacks at the authenticity of climate change have been as adamant as they are consistent. However, new polling suggests that the air time they have afforded environmental topics could be working against them, actually increasing the percentage of Americans that believe the earth is warming. How carefully do the candidates have to tread in order to navigate through a populace that feels more comfortable supporting the idea of climate change? Continue Reading…
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So maybe harder times are not hitting green goals that hard after all. Recent polling efforts targeting how citizens respond to green issues bears some surprisingly strong support for sustainability in the economy. The numbers come as a welcome counter to the Gallup poll that showed a continually declining support for the severity of global warming, suggesting that either support for green efforts were growing soft or that global warming may not be a great front runner for the movement.
The necessity of environmental reorganization may be sinking deeper into the population. The polling questions by the Washington Post/ABC targeted the regulating of Greenhouse Gases by the government and showed considerable support—counter to the conservative voice of opposition with a strong presence in the media as of late. 75% of American voters are pro regulation with 54% being strongly in favor. Similarly, when asked as to their concern about rising costs associated with GHG regulation, 77% said they were concerned. It is reasonable to believe that, for many, despite their concern for higher prices they are still in favor of a more sustainable goal.
The polling of NBC/Wall Street Journal is somewhat tempered, but still positive. Their more pointed question of whether we should regulate GHG if it will raise energy bills revealed 53% being in favor. Moreover, 68% of voters agreed with President Obama’s plans to devote $121 billion over ten years to develop green energy.
If the numbers carry some truth then we may be avoiding one of the worst fears of environmentalists and green company investors: the economic downturn and resulting financial worries will surmount years of growing interest (and capital) for green spending and policy. If sustainability in the marketplace can survive the worst financial crisis since the depression, then we may be poised for meaningful progress.