Perhaps it shouldn’t come as a surprise, but the results of a new
poll are disheartening, showing that Americans are increasing their
support for more oil exploration and drilling, as opposed to increased
conservation measures.
The survey, conducted by the Pew Research
Center, also shows an increasing proportion of country’s citizens favor
developing new sources of energy, rather than protecting the
environment.
As the price of gasoline is beginning to cramp our free-spending
lifestyles, we are choosing to trade whatever is of any worth to
continue down this path.
At some point down the road there will
be no Alaska Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) to lay at the feet
of the oil companies. There will be no untapped oil fields on the
coastal shelves–not to mention no more pristine ecological systems, no
more clean beaches, no more clean air and no more stable climate
patterns.
Where will we draw the line? When will we say, enough is enough–it’s time to make some sacrifices?
No time soon, according to this survey, which shows changes in American opinions over just the last five months.
- 50% now support drilling in ANWR, up from 42%.
- 47% rate energy exploration as more important that conservation, up from 35%.
Change was also noted among young people, liberals, Democrats and
women–groups that have consistently opposed increasing fossil fuel
exploration.
51% of people ages 18-29 now support expanding
exploration, up from 26% in February. The gender gap has disappeared on
the issue, too, as well as the gap between Democrats and Republicans.
In
other bad news, the Energy Information Administration said that
participation in green pricing/marketing programs has decreased among
electricity customers, further supporting the notion that Americans are
unwilling to pay a price for protecting the planet.
After three
years of gains from 2003-2005 in the number of participants in programs
that allow customers to pay a fee to support the generation of clean,
renewably based power, participation dropped in 2006. (Numbers are not
yet available for 2007.)
The number of programs available to
customers increased slightly in 2006, from 442 to 484. But nationwide,
participation decreased 32% from 942,772 to 645,167.
Without strong leadership on this issue, or a reversal in the tide of public opinion, dark days lie ahead.
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