Posted 4/8/2010 4:37 PM CDT
A new Gallup poll released today found that Americans now prioritize energy production over environmental protection for the first time in its 10-year history. The survey showed that a solid 50% of Americans want to develop US energy resources even if doing so will lead to environmental “suffering” of some kind. (That marks a 16 point increase from just three years ago.)
Public opinion has been trending in this direction for quite some time; in fact, a similar Gallup study done in March showed that Americans would risk environmental protection for more secure economic growth. Combined, these two polls demonstrate that the public is losing faith in Washington’s energy policy.
As “green” energy rhetoric has increased, so too have energy costs – leading the average consumer to realize that the only green element of current US policy is the money being wasted on feel good energy policies. The Obama Administration and those in the environmental community should heed this movement. Energy demand is a concrete reality, not just a public perception that can be solved through clever marketing. Americans need, and clearly want, national energy policies that tangibly enhance our energy security by pursuing all available sources of energy. That means greater access to and increased use of traditional energy resources, not policies that impose costly command-and-control regulation on the use of fossil fuels, or nuclear power, or whatever energy source happens to be out of style in Washington that week.
It’s no surprise that this important shift comes just a week after President Obama’s announcement that claimed to expand access to the plentiful oil and gas resources that lie off U.S. coasts. As I’ve noted before, the administration’s plan, while theoretically allowing some access, offers none of the guarantees of long term development that would make investment in domestic resources financially feasible or make a difference to consumers’ pocketbooks. Gallup’s new findings suggest that the American public was not fooled by this insubstantial, political offering.
It may end up being the ultimate irony but not really unexpected. Much of the clamor in recent years about anthropogenic global warming, the outrageous claims about its consequences by Al Gore and the UN’s IPCC, the talk about cap and trade at a time of dire economic needs and the bona fide nonsense of the Waxman-Markey bill have worked in unison to dig a huge credibility gap. We may be witnessing a phase where the American public is ready to throw away the baby with the bath water. And that would be a pity because real pollution and not CO2 emissions still need our undivided attention.
As far as energy supply we have innovative technology at our disposal from space age technology for offshore production to exploiting America’s vast shale gas resources, to increase the nation’s domestic supply of affordable energy, and we have the experience to do so in an environmentally responsible manner. Now it’s time for government policies that promote and encourage action.
Public opinion has been trending in this direction for quite some time; in fact, a similar Gallup study done in March showed that Americans would risk environmental protection for more secure economic growth. Combined, these two polls demonstrate that the public is losing faith in Washington’s energy policy.
As “green” energy rhetoric has increased, so too have energy costs – leading the average consumer to realize that the only green element of current US policy is the money being wasted on feel good energy policies. The Obama Administration and those in the environmental community should heed this movement. Energy demand is a concrete reality, not just a public perception that can be solved through clever marketing. Americans need, and clearly want, national energy policies that tangibly enhance our energy security by pursuing all available sources of energy. That means greater access to and increased use of traditional energy resources, not policies that impose costly command-and-control regulation on the use of fossil fuels, or nuclear power, or whatever energy source happens to be out of style in Washington that week.
It’s no surprise that this important shift comes just a week after President Obama’s announcement that claimed to expand access to the plentiful oil and gas resources that lie off U.S. coasts. As I’ve noted before, the administration’s plan, while theoretically allowing some access, offers none of the guarantees of long term development that would make investment in domestic resources financially feasible or make a difference to consumers’ pocketbooks. Gallup’s new findings suggest that the American public was not fooled by this insubstantial, political offering.
It may end up being the ultimate irony but not really unexpected. Much of the clamor in recent years about anthropogenic global warming, the outrageous claims about its consequences by Al Gore and the UN’s IPCC, the talk about cap and trade at a time of dire economic needs and the bona fide nonsense of the Waxman-Markey bill have worked in unison to dig a huge credibility gap. We may be witnessing a phase where the American public is ready to throw away the baby with the bath water. And that would be a pity because real pollution and not CO2 emissions still need our undivided attention.
As far as energy supply we have innovative technology at our disposal from space age technology for offshore production to exploiting America’s vast shale gas resources, to increase the nation’s domestic supply of affordable energy, and we have the experience to do so in an environmentally responsible manner. Now it’s time for government policies that promote and encourage action.
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