By a 7-1 margin, Americans agree that the federal government should extend incentives that encourage greater use of renewable energy technologies, according to a national poll released today. And a separate study released yesterday shows that the U.S. lags far behind global leaders in a ranking of environmental performance–yet another reason renewables deserve extended tax incentives.
2007 was a record-breaking year for renewable electricity generation in the United States, with almost 6,000 megawatts (MW) of new renewable energy coming on line, infusing some $20 billion in new investment into the economy. But the federal production tax credit (PTC) and tax incentives for other renewable energy sources are now in danger of lapsing at the end of this year.
The survey research firm Zogby International surveyed Americans on existing federal incentives for renewable energy, in a poll commissioned by by the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA). The survey found that 85% of Americans agree with the statement, "The federal government should continue existing incentives to encourage greater use of renewable energy technologies such as wind and solar power." Just 12% disagree.
Zogby International conducted an online survey of 7,106 adults from January 18 to January 21, 2008. A sampling of Zogby’s online panel, which is representative of the adult population of the U.S., was invited to participate. Slight weights were added to region, party, age, race, religion, gender to more accurately reflect the population. The margin of error is +/- 1.2 percentage points. Margins of error are higher in sub-groups.
Yale-Columbia Study
Switzerland scored highest in a ranking of 149 countries measuring six areas of environmental performance, including air pollution, water quality and industrial pollution control. The U.S. ranked 39th, primarily due to its astronomical greenhouse gas emissions level and the impact of air pollution on ecosystems.
The 2008 Environmental Performance Index, which was conducted by researchers and Yale University and Columbia University, ranked the United Kingdom 14th and Japan 21st. In addition to Switzerland the top five were Sweden, Norway, Finland and Costa Rica–in that order.
"The United States’ performance indicates that the next administration must not ignore the ecosystem impacts of environmental as well as agricultural, energy and water management policies," Gus Speth, dean of the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, said in a statement.
The U.S ranking–below Albania, Russia and Panama–was "a national disgrace," Speth said.
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