New Poll Highlights Americans' Thoughts on Climate Change

A new University of Texas (UT) national energy poll echoes findings from America's Wetland Foundation (AWF) polling over a 10-year period; 73% of Americans, including 54% of Republican voters, think climate change is occurring. An earlier AWF poll revealed 68% of voters in Texas and 72% in Louisiana saw climate change as a real problem with only 26% and 28%, respectively, refusing to believe in the problem. The poll also supports earlier findings in assembled forums by AWF that reveal southern states are concerned about climate change despite preferred political stances in the south.

"Voters in the south see water lapping away at their shorelines, threatening communities and industry alike as the land erodes and storm events take their toll; an environmental catastrophe is in the making," Val Marmillion, AWF managing director, said.

AWF partnered with Entergy Corporation to fund a study over several years that revealed climate change will seriously impact built infrastructure along the Gulf Coast and state governments will have a hard time keeping up with the costs. The UT study found that 58% of Americans say government and industry should collaborate to strengthen U.S. energy security and independence and to solve environmental issues.

"For the better part of a decade, AWF has tested voter and interest leader attitudes about the effects of climate change and sea level rise on the Gulf region, and to our surprise, there is widespread consensus that our economy is directly linked to environmental services and a sustained ecosystem," AWF senior advisor, Sidney Coffee, said. "This isn't about politics in our coastal communities, it is about survival and ensuring national security and peace of mind for those who live here."

The results reflect earlier AWF findings; 95% of voters in both Louisiana and Texas feel perceived conflicts between energy production and environmental protection have become too politically divisive and that greater cooperation is needed. Ninety-seven percent of voters feel it will take a team effort of government, industry, education and nonprofit organizations to restore the Gulf Coast, agreeing a unified effort is the best hope for coastal restoration and protection.

Conservation is another area where voters in the south agree with the UT national findings. Voters by overwhelming margins - 65% of Louisiana voters and 68% of those in Texas - believe Americans must learn to consume less to become energy independent and to protect the environment. The UT national survey finds a slight majority of 53% willing to purchase a higher efficiency vehicle, while nearly as many would decrease the number of miles they drive or would purchase an alternative fuel or electric vehicle - 46% and 44% - to help reduce U.S. dependence on foreign oil imports.

Source: America's Wetland Foundation