🚀 go-pugleaf

From: Tom Gray <tomgray@igc.org>

POLL INDICATES BIPARTISAN
SUPPORT FOR RENEWABLES

     American voters prefer federal funding for renewable energy
and energy efficiency over fossil fuels and nuclear power,
according to a public opinion survey released January 16.

     The poll was coordinated by the Sustainable Energy Budget
Coalition, a group of nearly 40 business, environmental,
consumer, governmental, and energy policy organizations,
including AWEA.  It was conducted in December by
Research/Strategy/Management, Inc. (RSM).

     According to the results of the poll, a majority of voters
believe either renewable energy (34%) or energy efficiency
programs (21%) should receive top priority for Department of
Energy funding.  In contrast, fossil fuels and nuclear power each
were given priority status by only 9% of the voters.

     Renewables and energy efficiency also ranked highest among
the technologies on the issue of which should receive federal tax
incentives to attract private sector efforts to develop and
promote them.  Given a single choice, one-third of the
respondents selected renewables and 17% supported incentives for
efficiency measures.  Natural gas, fossil fuels in general, and
nuclear power once again each received only support in the single
digits.

     These results, said Scott Denman of the Safe Energy
Communication Council, show that there is a strong "disconnect
between public attitudes and how Congress is voting on energy
funding issues."  Dr. Ronald Hinckley of RSM pointed out that
support for renewables was found among voters with a range of
political perspectives.  RSM has conducted several polls on
energy issues, he said, and he was struck by the "remarkable
bipartisanship" and "consistency over time" of public support for
renewables.

     One conclusion of the poll was that 75% of American voters
believe that dependence on foreign oil is a problem and must be
reduced, indicating that five years after the Persian Gulf War,
Americans favor shifting U.S. energy priorities.

     "The United States and its allies went to war in the Persian
Gulf largely because of their dependence on the region's oil
reserves," said Carol Werner of the Environmental and Energy
Study Institute, "[yet] little has been done in the intervening
years to reduce the nation's dependence on oil in general and
imported oil in particular."  According to Werner, the U.S.
imports roughly nine million barrels of oil each day, more than
50% of its consumption.  These imports are one of the largest
components of the U.S. trade deficit and amount to nearly $60
billion annually.

     Dr. Joseph Romm, Acting Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary
for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy of the Department of
Energy, said oil imports are indeed a significant problem for the
U.S. and that "it is widely viewed as a plausible concern" at DOE
that another oil crisis is looming.  Romm said he is "willing to
bet" that a crisis will occur within the next 10 years. 
According to U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA)
figures, he said, oil imports will likely increase to 20 million
barrels a day in the next 15 years.

     In a teleconference held after the release of the poll
results, Energy Secretary Hazel O'Leary said that "Congress
doesn't get it," noting that Congress has sharply cut funding for
renewables and efficiency (which could help ensure future energy
security) while increasing defense spending.  She agreed that an
oil crisis is impending.

     Respondents also overwhelmingly objected to federal funding
for a new generation of nuclear energy plants, with nearly 75%
opposed.

_______________________________________________________________________________

The American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) has authorized me to offer
an electronic edition of its newsletter, _Wind Energy Weekly_, from
which the above article is excerpted, at no cost.

For those of you who have not previously seen excerpts from back
issues, the _Weekly_ reports on the outlook for renewable energy,
energy-related environmental issues, and renewable energy
legislation in addition to wind industry trade news.  The
electronic edition normally runs about 10kb in length. 

The free electronic edition of the _Weekly_ is intended as an educational
publication for those without a commercial interest in the wind energy 
industry.  If your interest in wind is commercial in nature, please write to
<windmail@mcimail.com> for more information about AWEA membership and
publications.

If you would like a free electronic subscription, send me an e-mail
request.  Please include information on your position, organization, and
reason for interest in the publication. 
____________________________________________________________________________

Tom Gray 					          tomgray@econet.org
____________________________________________________________________________

Support renewable energy!  Visit the Electronic Lobbyist for
Renewable Energy Web Site: 

	http://www.netcom.com/~stevie2/budget.html