Richard Tafoya
Jun 20th, 2007, 02:13 PM
Stanford University:
http://news-service.stanford.edu/news/2007/june20/warming-062007.html
Now that 85 percent of Americans believe global warming is "probably" happening, most favor government-imposed standards on energy and fuel companies to other policies designed to reduce greenhouse gases, according to a new poll released June 20 by Stanford University, New Scientist magazine and Resources for the Future, a Washington, D.C.-based think tank.
In the national survey, 73 percent of respondents said they support government-mandated low-carbon standards on electrical power generators—requiring companies to use alternative energy sources such as wind or solar power—in exchange for supporting a $10 increase in a typical monthly bill. Given the same price increase, only 47 percent of people favor "cap-and-trade" programs, in which the government imposes a limit on companies' greenhouse gas emissions but issues tradeable permits allowing them to emit a certain amount of pollution.
The results, which are being discussed this morning at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., are important because cap-and-trade programs—which probably would cost less to implement than mandated policies—are featured in some bills presently under congressional consideration.
"This survey helps policymakers anticipate which policies could be sold to the public and which wouldn't," said Jon Krosnick, a Stanford professor of communication and of political science who helped design the poll. "Our findings suggest that Americans are open to policies they think will work and are affordable. Policymakers who want to avoid public resistance to their proposals will find useful guidance in our numbers."
New Scientist details the findings in its cover story this week, "Global Warming: The Buck Stops Here." San Francisco Bureau Chief Peter Aldous, who wrote the article, worked with Krosnick; Matthew DeBell, a researcher at Stanford's Institute for Research in the Social Sciences (IRiSS); and doctoral candidate Brent Bannon to design the survey with Ray Kopp, a senior fellow at Resources for the Future. Stanford's Woods Institute for the Environment supported the Stanford team and plans to back future polls on global warming.
"This survey adds to an accumulating body of evidence that the public really supports policies that address global warming," DeBell said. "Before, there was no documentation that people were willing to put their money where their mouths are. This shows that people are willing to support these policies even when costs are incurred."
The shift in public attitude is critical, the researchers said, because the United States produces 25 percent of carbon dioxide emissions worldwide and, consequently, Americans must be involved in addressing global warming.
http://news-service.stanford.edu/news/2007/june20/warming-062007.html
Now that 85 percent of Americans believe global warming is "probably" happening, most favor government-imposed standards on energy and fuel companies to other policies designed to reduce greenhouse gases, according to a new poll released June 20 by Stanford University, New Scientist magazine and Resources for the Future, a Washington, D.C.-based think tank.
In the national survey, 73 percent of respondents said they support government-mandated low-carbon standards on electrical power generators—requiring companies to use alternative energy sources such as wind or solar power—in exchange for supporting a $10 increase in a typical monthly bill. Given the same price increase, only 47 percent of people favor "cap-and-trade" programs, in which the government imposes a limit on companies' greenhouse gas emissions but issues tradeable permits allowing them to emit a certain amount of pollution.
The results, which are being discussed this morning at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., are important because cap-and-trade programs—which probably would cost less to implement than mandated policies—are featured in some bills presently under congressional consideration.
"This survey helps policymakers anticipate which policies could be sold to the public and which wouldn't," said Jon Krosnick, a Stanford professor of communication and of political science who helped design the poll. "Our findings suggest that Americans are open to policies they think will work and are affordable. Policymakers who want to avoid public resistance to their proposals will find useful guidance in our numbers."
New Scientist details the findings in its cover story this week, "Global Warming: The Buck Stops Here." San Francisco Bureau Chief Peter Aldous, who wrote the article, worked with Krosnick; Matthew DeBell, a researcher at Stanford's Institute for Research in the Social Sciences (IRiSS); and doctoral candidate Brent Bannon to design the survey with Ray Kopp, a senior fellow at Resources for the Future. Stanford's Woods Institute for the Environment supported the Stanford team and plans to back future polls on global warming.
"This survey adds to an accumulating body of evidence that the public really supports policies that address global warming," DeBell said. "Before, there was no documentation that people were willing to put their money where their mouths are. This shows that people are willing to support these policies even when costs are incurred."
The shift in public attitude is critical, the researchers said, because the United States produces 25 percent of carbon dioxide emissions worldwide and, consequently, Americans must be involved in addressing global warming.