Voters Want Change of Direction in Energy Policy, Poll Shows

A poll released December 2 by NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council), a national conservation group, finds that a strong majority of voters want to change the direction of the country's energy policy. The post-election survey reveals broad public support for action on global warming, and for reducing U.S. dependence on oil through efficiency, clean energy, and technology innovation.

According to NRDC, the findings contradict claims that the reelection of President Bush implies an endorsement of current administration policies on energy and the environment.

Fifty-two percent of voters want to go in a different direction than the Presidents, NRDC said, with 45% strongly wanting a different direction and 7% not so strongly. The responses become even stronger when the questions are more specific.

Seventy-two percent (72%) of voters want more action on reducing global warming, including 43% who want much more action, the survey found. This strong response was evident both in states that are predictably Republican (where 69% want more action), Democrat (76%), and in the battleground states (72%). Nearly two-thirds of voters (65%) support the McCain-Lieberman Climate Stewardship Act, which would set a nationwide limit on emissions of carbon dioxide and other emissions linked to global warming. Nearly three-quarters (73%) of voters support Californias emission law that requires automakers to reduce emissions from new cars and light trucks by 2009, and 70% support enacting such a law at the national level.

"This poll shows the public supports clean energy solutions, something many businesses across the country are also calling for," said David Hawkins, Director of NRDC's Climate Center. "It's time Congress and the White House listen and enact forward-thinking legislation to reduce our dependence on oil and fight global warming pollution by encouraging efficiency and innovation."

The poll surveyed 1,343 Election Day voters (with oversamples in Ohio, Florida and Iowa) and was conducted between November 10 and 16 by Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research, a leading national polling organization.