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Time for Action: After BP Disaster, Americans are Ready for Clean Energy
It turns out that attempts by conservatives to discredit climate science may not have left a big dent on American public opinion after all. According to polls released this week, the vast majority of the public is still concerned about climate change, and, in the wake of the BP spill, readier than ever to ambitiously develop renewable energy.
A survey by Yale University shows that 61 percent of Americans believe global warming is real, a four-point rise since the same question was polled in January 2010. Fifty percent believe it is caused, at least in part, by human activities, a three-point increase. A Stanford University survey obtained even stronger responses—about three-quarters of those polled said they believe climate change is real and humans are wholly or partly to blame.
This is good news for anyone who was disheartened by a Pew survey last fall that suggested public concern over global warming had dropped—for instance, 65 percent believed it was a serious problem; down from 73 percent in spring 2008. Stanford professor Jon Krosnick, quoted in USA Today, says, “Several national surveys released during the last eight months have been interpreted as showing that fewer and fewer Americans believe that climate change is real, human-caused, and threatening to people … But our new survey shows just the opposite."
To me, the news is also a reminder of the highly variable nature of polls. Polls sometimes have significant margins of error. They are useful snapshots of the American psyche at a given moment, but I often wonder at the press when it claims to reach some startling conclusion about what Americans must think based on their responses to a rapid-fire and sometimes unwelcome phone call from a research institution.
Whether public concern has gone up or down by a small margin seems to me like a red herring. When half to three-quarters of Americans can acknowledge that climate change is a problem, it’s certainly no fringe issue. And a majority of the public supports action: For instance, the Stanford poll reveals that 84 percent of Americans favor tax breaks to encourage companies to produce more power from solar, wind, and hydro. As Obama considers whose ass to kick over the Gulf spill, I wonder how much more of a mandate he needs to pursue a climate bill and an ambitious energy policy.
Of course, the politics of the Senate are not, unfortunately, driven by majority public opinion. All the more reason why, as our executive editor, Sarah van Gelder, writes, we need people power to make Obama take action.
12 Comments so far
Show AllAlmost 40 percent don't believe that Global Warming is real. The ignorance running rampant in this country is stunning.
"I wonder how much more of a mandate he needs to pursue a climate bill and an ambitious energy policy."
Oilbama isn't about mandates. Oilbama isn't about bending to "people power". Oilbama is a corportatist, pure and simple.
The Oil Companies win, Oilbama will advance more offshore drilling regardless of this tragedy, and Rahm Emmanuel will help Oilbama triangulate just enough votes, from conservatives and "progressives", to win in 2012.
Yes! Magazine, please get real. You definitely have some good, vital things going, but stop wasting energy urging us to "make Obama do it." It is getting stale, even a little moldy.
Everywhere you look, the picture is crystal clear. There are two agendas. The agenda of the corporate power elite (and its government wing) is not the agenda of the people. It doesn't matter whether or not an issue is fringe or whether or not the people are starting to get it. "Mandates" mean nothing other than determining what the PR establishment has to work on.
We need to build a new society and fight for it.
"Americans are ready for clean energy."
Since when? That has been repeated after every tragedy but as soon as it is over, then it's back to not ready as usual. Traffic congestion even on the weekend has been getting worse in Maryland and Washington despite the spill and I see very few "clean energy" cars on the road. Ask Americans what the meaning of climate change is and they will get personal and tell you that it's about getting mad about the economy or about it being a hot day suddenly when the previous day was windy. Polls are nothing but bullshit until the real thing comes first. When I see more "green" cars on the road and no more guzzlers, then the polls might mean something.
We have plenty of clean energy right out there in the cornfields that can be made into ethanol and the processing plants are ready to go. No use drilling out in the ocean and ruining a whole section of our country needlessly and carelessly. I have not been a great supporter of ethanol and bio-diesel because it did not seem right to use a food product to fuel vehicles. However, this oil debacle is about enough and I believe using corn which there is plenty of should be made use of while we are working on all other methods of energy production. Using modern methods, it takes far less energy to produce corn than just a few years ago, so it could fill the gap and allow us to stop the stupid deep water fiasco.
All the gas stations in my area use ethanol and the only ethanol in use is corn. Corn soaks up more oil and water and doesn't yield much plus it damages the engines in the long run. There are better biofuels to try. What about soy, switch grass, sugar canes, alcohol, and similar? I think we can get a better yield on those ethanols. Is there a farmer here who can give us the results?
Demolition__ I agree that it would be better to develop other sources of ethanol that could make more sense than corn. However, with the gulf in a disaster because of the oil companies carelessness, we need to change course. There is ongoing research on grasses, canes, etc. but the system for using corn is already in place and functioning. Many ethanol plants were shut down and could be rapidly started up again with no threat to our environment. I do not understand your statement that corn does not yield much as I believe 200-300 bu of corn per acre will make considerable fuel and the by-products are used so it is quite an efficient operation. This would also help our own economy grow instead of throwing our money away to other countries. We need to explore all options and do what is safe and sensible for a change.
I read several articles on the EREOI from ethanol based on a variety of biofuel sources. In most cases, corn ends up on the bottom. Corn is generally cheap and plentiful compared to grass, wood, sugar canes, soy, and alcohol as far as energy production to meet the demand is concerned. I am not a farmer so I can't say which biofuel we should stick to.
Personally, I would prefer leaving all fuels alone as much as possible and getting those train tracks expanded. The VA and MD lawmakers in my area have effectively stalled development for expanding metro coverage even when we need it the most and traffic congestion is severe from Fredericksburg, VA all the way to Frederick, MD. The state legislators all over are ready to fund highway expansion projects and knock down people's homes where it interferes but get personal when railroad tracks might interfere with a few homes. Even in 2008, feeding cars topped feeding oneself and freeing themselves of the auto. This country is proudly FUBAR.
We are 55 billion dollars behind the Chinese who have committed that amount and more for developing solar and wind technologys and manufacturing.
They are going to create jobs and new energy products using their cheap labor, again leaving us in a position of not being competitive,And not creating manufacturing jobs that we need desperately.
As a side note, all the major oil company's with their huge profits and ability to control our greedy elected officials are to blame for this whole mess of two wars, terrorists, and our complete addiction to oil.
They have known for 30 years we are going to run out of oil.
Instead of using their profits for creating new industry's, like solar and wind, they found ways to slow development.
These are simple acts of greed and stupidity. The oil companys are in the energy business, why not diversify.Our elected officials should have taken control and given incentives for creating new industry's of energy.But they didnt.
So, now that the better educated middle east has figured out that they want control of their resources, and are tired of the CIA puppet regimes, they figured out they hate us for our arrogant meddlesome greedy policy's.
And the middle east showed the world how to defeat a superpower, twice. First , Russia, and now us. By bleeding us dry. Bankruptcy from fear. We will spend as much money as private contractor of our new warrant less surveillance spy network and our war contractors will take from our fear. Trillion dollars a year. Oh, banks and the small number of contractors are reaping the benefits, but 90 percent of us our paying all the bills.
We Americans need to wise up , its brilliant men that find ways not to go to war, George Bush and Dick Cheney are greedy traitors, and our failed policy's of greed, empire and war, have hurt America badly. If its revenge for 9/11 that we wanted, we could have used special forces and a fraction of the cost of these two wars, and lives lost. As there any reason not to believe that the military industrial complex has benefited the most from the last 10 years.And, gee, the fact that we created more enemies makes our never ending quest of occupation and war endless. WE ARE IDIOTS.
And our wars have tripled our enemy's, the more innocent people we kill in the middle east and Pakistan , the more freedom fighters we create. Oh , I'm sorry,did I say freedom fighters, I meant terrorists.
Our leadership , all three branches of government , our bought and sold every day by fascist corporate interests, the prostitution business is more honorable.
The American people, and American life style our being sacrificed at the alter of capitalistic advancement.
We are expendable, our jobs are to work , pay taxes and die young.Whats important to this government is total corporate fascist control and empire.
By the way, the stasi are here , in your community's, and growing. Google American stasi, and get educated.
first of all, why aren't scientists, the media, and the big environmental activist entities continuing to harp on "global warming" when it would be infinitely more efficient to harp on the painfully tangible and immediate ill effects of pollution instead? everyone agrees - it's bad.
it's also frustrating that there's so much emphasis being placed on how urgently we need legislation, with almost none being placed on the importance of personal action. it seems to be all about blaming somebody else, waiting for some magic bullet "green" technology, or some bill that will change everything for the better. in the 1940's people were told to "use it up, wear it out, make it do...or do without." in 2001 we were told instead to "go shopping", keep the blinders on.
As long as our leaders and our corporations are one and the same, and as long as they do not stand to gain when the rest of us do not buy into their system, there will NEVER be legislation coming from the top down that will benefit the environment. NO ONE makes a buck when the environment is saved!! only WE THE PEOPLE stand to gain when we find out that we're happier and healthier without a lot of the stuff we thought we needed, the stuff we were told to buy in order to keep the economy going.
saving the environment, if it's ever going to happen, has the best chance of being achieved via a massive grassroots effort. it's going to have to start with small seemingly insignificant individual actions - everything from buying a head of lettuce at the local farm stand instead of one flown in from some faraway land to taking money out of 401K's and other hidden investments that support wars and oil companies...to just not buying anything that we don't absolutely need. one way to take back our power is by refusing to buy into the system.
use it up, wear it out, make it do...or do without.
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"Americans are ready for clean energy"? So, what does THAT matter. Corporations are not.
Besides that, with only 61% accepting the reality of climate change, and only 50% believing it is anthropogenic, I would hardly say that constitutes scientific literacy (rather the opposite, in fact) or a critical mass or anything that portends change.
"Make Obama take action"? He won't even hear your voice for less than a generous campaign contribution becuase--hold onto your hats--HE. DOESN'T. CARE.
Time for Action: After BP Disaster, Americans are Ready for Clean Energy
It's the AFTER in the title of this story that threw me... it's not AFTER yet, it's still DURING. We can't be so quick to say that we are in the "wake" of the oil spill, because we are still being drowned in the shitstorm of oil spewing unchecked from the bottom of the ocean. Let's not be too quick to make this a thing of the past, let's keep it fresh in our minds.