Wednesday, March 08, 2006

New Survey Shows Overwhelming Support for Renewable Energy Development


Perhaps this will kick some of those laggard politicians into gear: the 25x'25 Work Group has released the results of a survey by the Energy Future Coalition that shows Americans are very supportive of "... government policies and investments that will support development of renewable energy sources like solar, wind and ethanol." Among the survey's findings:
  • There is nearly unanimous support for a national goal of having 25% of our domestic energy needs met by renewable resources by the year 2025. Ninety-eight percent of voters see this goal as important for the country, and three out of four (74%) feel that it is "very important." Ninety percent of voters believe this goal is achievable.

  • Similar majorities support government action to encourage greater use of renewable energy. Eighty-eight percent of voters favor financial incentives, and 92% support minimum government standards for the use of renewable energy by the private sector.

  • Nearly all voters (98%) say the costs, such as the cost of research and development and the cost of building new renewable energy production facilities, would be worth it to move us toward the 25x'25 goal.
I knew Americans generally supported renewable energy development: unlesss your whole portfolio is tied up in the oil, gas or nuclear industries, it's hard to think of a reason not to support such national investments. These numbers are especially encouraging, though. The private sector clearly understands this: while I was dismissive of the Carlyle Group's move into renewables recently, it does bode well for private money flowing that way. Perhaps we can reprioritize government spending, too, with an eye towards the future.

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