NYT story shows that Americans "get it" about global climate change and that Democrats would be well-advised to run, and run hard, on this issue. For example:
Americans in large bipartisan numbers say the heating of the earth’s atmosphere is having serious effects on the environment now or will soon and think that it is necessary to take immediate steps to reduce its effects, the latest New York Times/CBS News poll finds. Ninety percent of Democrats, 80 percent of independents and 60 percent of Republicans said immediate action was required to curb the warming of the atmosphere and deal with its effects on the global climate. Nineteen percent said it was not necessary to act now, and 1 percent said no steps were needed.
That's SIXTY PERCENT OF REPUBLICANS! Yes, one American in five is either an oil company executive or a retard, but when you've got 90% of Democrats, 80% of Independents, and SIXTY PERCENT OF REPUBLICANS, you can ignore the twenty percenters.
The poll also found that Americans want the United States to support conservation and to be a global leader in addressing environmental problems and developing alternative energy sources to reduce reliance on fossil fuels like oil and coal. Contrast that with Karl Rove's diatribe this weekend when he castigated Cheryl Crowe for wanting the U.S. to lead on global warming by asserting that China isn't doing enough. Kkkkarl's polling may be a bit off; he doesn't have THE numbers on this one, either. Which may help to explain why:
Respondents expressed little confidence in President Bush’s handling of environmental or energy issues, and a majority of those polled, including many Republicans, said Democrats were more likely than Republicans to protect the environment and foster energy independence. Note again that even Republicans, SIXTY PERCENT OF WHOM want the U.S. to take immediate action to curb global warming, believe that the Democrats are more likely to do so.
Democrats have got to use this issue. Asked how they would respond to a presidential candidate who said all Americans would have to pay more for fuel or use less of it to protect the environment, one-third said they would be more likely to vote for that person and 15 percent said they would be less likely. Almost half said it would make no difference.
Only 15% of Americans would be less likely to vote for a candidate who told the truth; that we're going to have to use less fuel (which is what paying more leads to) in order to protect the environment. If the Dems couple that with a works program to build mass transit, they'd likely have a very popular package to sell, even on the tough issue of using less fuel.
Other good news:
*Americans broadly support using renewable energy sources like solar and wind power and say fueling vehicles with ethanol, which is now made largely from corn, is a good idea, the survey found.
**By a substantial margin, Americans continue to oppose drilling for oil and natural gas in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska, as they have for the last six years.
Although respondents split almost evenly on whether Washington can effectively address global warming, they almost unanimously (92 percent to 6 percent) supported requiring automobile manufacturers to make more fuel-efficient cars.
***A big majority, 75 percent, said recent weather had been stranger than usual, an increase of almost 10 percentage points from 1997. Of those who said the weather had turned weird, 43 percent attributed it to global warming and 15 percent to pollution or other environmental damage. Four percent cited the coming end of the world or biblical prophecy, and 2 percent blamed space junk.
OK, six percent of Americans are complete idiots. I think we can safely quit governing towards the six percent. Kick Dobson, Falwell, et al. to the curb.
It's encouraging that many people are waking up.
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