SURVEY: 3 OUT OF 4 AMERICANS ARE ANGRY ABOUT HIGH GAS PRICES, EXPECT TO PAY $5 PER GALLON AT THE PUMP BY LABOR DAY, SUPPORT SWEEPING ENERGY/CLIMATE ACTION
Likely Voters Unhappy With Lack of Movement on Major Energy and Climate Fixes; Big Jump Seen Since January in Ranking of Energy Prices As Top U.S. Economic Worry.
WASHINGTON, D.C.///June 26, 2008///Americans are increasingly angry and anxious about high gas prices and favor far-reaching action on energy and climate issues. About three out of four Americans (76 percent) and a similar percentage of likely voters (74 percent) expect gasoline prices to reach $5 a gallon by Labor Day, according to a major new national opinion survey of 1,005 adults conducted for the nonprofit and nonpartisan Civil Society Institute (CSI) think tank and its Citizens Lead for Energy Action Now (CLEAN) project (http://www.CleanEnergyAction.net) by Opinion Research Corporation (ORC).The level of Americans braced for more bad news on gas prices by the end of the summer is up from the 71 percent of Americans who correctly forecast in a January 2008 CSI survey that gas prices would reach $4 a gallon this summer.
Three out of four Americans (74 percent) and 73 percent of likely voters - including a bipartisan 73 percent of Republicans, 74 percent of Democrats and 74 percent of Independents - say that they already are "very angry" (40 percent) or "somewhat angry" (33 percent) about gasoline prices.
In a big shift, the number of Americans who cite rising gasoline and other energy prices as their biggest economic worry is up sharply from January of this year.In the new survey, when asked to identify the "two biggest economic problems" for 2008, over three out of five Americans (62 percent) - including a nearly identical 62 percent of Republicans, 62 percent of Democrats and 61 percent of Independents -- named "rising gasoline and home heating oil prices" as the biggest problem, ahead of 44 percent who pointed to "recession or economic slowdown."This reflects a major jump in less than half a year from January 2008 when only 51 percent named energy prices as their top concern, separated by just four percentage points (versus the current 18 percentage points) from the second most common worry:recession/economic slowdown, at 47 percent.
The result of all of this growing anger and anxiety is a political climate in which Americans favor far-reaching energy and climate solutions of the sort reflected in the CLEAN agenda (http://www.CleanEnergyAction.net). The new survey shows that six out of 10 Americans say "definitely yes" to the following statement:"The reliance on fossil fuels is the product of the industrial revolution of the 19th and early 20th centuries. Do you think it is time for our nation to start thinking in terms of the concept of a 'new industrial revolution,' one that is characterized by the orderly phasing out of fossil fuels and the phasing in of clean, renewable energy sources - many of which are available now, such as wind and solar for electricity, hybrid and clean diesel technologies for cars."Overall, 90 percent of Americans - including 82 percent of Republicans, 96 percent of Democrats and 94 percent of Independents -- said either "definitely" or "probably" yes and only 8 percent "no."
Another key finding: Significantly more Americans are now inclined to buy a fuel-efficient vehicle. Over half of Americans (53 percent) - including 58 percent of those who are angry about gas prices and 47 percent of Republicans, 60 percent of Democrats and 46 percent of Independents -- are "more likely"to "buy a hybrid, clean-diesel or other more fuel-efficient vehicle now than [they] were six months ago."This is up sharply from the 35 percent of Americans who indicated in April 2007 that they were more likely to buy a hybrid or other fuel-efficient vehicle than six months before.
Civil Society Institute President and Founder Pam Solo said: "Americans have been way ahead on issues related to energy policy and fuel efficiency.Now the country and our economy are being brought to their knees by high gas prices.As further evidence builds that extreme weather from climate change may also be taking its toll, Americans are deeply frustrated with the lack of leadership and decisive action by politicians on energy policies.Rather than discounting the future and deferring action,elected officials should seize the strong consensus in the country for bold steps to move the United States toward a clean power future and greater fuel efficiency."
Opinion Research Corporation Senior Researcher Graham Hueber said: "In looking back over more than half a dozen surveys we have conducted for the Civil Society Institute and CLEAN since 2005, it is apparent that high gasoline prices have both frustrated Americans and made them more receptive to thinking outside of the box on energy and climate issues. Americans seem to be converging on the need for major solutions, rather than splintering apart in the way that they so do on so many other national issues. Even on topics such as global warming that some have attempted to turn into 'wedge issues,' Americans of different political views are now fairly close to being on the same page."
As an example of this trend, Hueber pointed to the CSI/CLEAN survey finding that over four out of five Americans (85 percent) -- including 76 percent of Republicans, 92 percent of Democrats and 88 percent of Independents -- agree with the following statement: "A national energy strategy based on a 'phasing in' of new technologies and a phasing out of carbon based energy sources would require specific actions. America should commit to a five-year moratorium on new coal-fired power plants and, instead, focus on aggressive expansion of wind, solar and other renewable energy sources. Tax and other incentives should be provided for all new construction to help reduce energy consumption. Homeowners should get incentives to make their homes more energy efficient to help reduce energy demands."
OTHER KEY CSI/CLEAN SURVEY FINDINGS
About nine out of 10 Americans (89 percent) -- including 85 percent of Republicans, 93 percent of Democrats and 88 percent of Independents -- say that the federal government is "not doing enough" about "high energy prices and the U.S. dependence on Middle Eastern energy sources."This view is shared by 92 percent of those who are angry about gasoline prices.
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Nine out of 10 Americans -- including 86 percent of Republicans, 95 percent of Democrats and 86 percent of Independents - say that "energy-related issues - such as gasoline prices, home heating oil prices, global warming and energy independence" will be "very important" (61 percent) or "somewhat important" (29 percent) when they vote.This level is holding roughly steady from the 89 percent level found in the January 2008 CSI survey asking the same question.
Support is growing for setting "a national goal of declaring July 4, 2015 as 'Energy Independence Day' -- a real target date for ending our reliance on Middle Eastern and other foreign oil supplies."The new survey shows that 75 percent of Americans -- including 70 percent of Republicans, 80 percent of Democrats and 64 percent of Independents.That is up from the 69 percent support for such a target date found in June 2005 when the same question was posed in a CSI survey.
About nine out of 10 Americans (89 percent) who are angry about gasoline prices see a "great deal or some" gouging of consumers at the gas pump, compared to 81 percent of all Americans.
Major industry-financed advertising and PR campaigns to persuade Americans that it is dangerous to remedy global warming do not appear to be working. Only 15 percent of Americans - including 24 percent of Republicans, 9 percent of Democrats and 15 percent of Independents - think that taking steps to curb global warming would "hurt the U.S. economy."Over half (56 percent) - including 41 percent of Republicans, 68 percent of Democrats and 55 percent of Independents - think that such action would "create new jobs and investments," while about a quarter (26 percent) foresee a neutral impact on the economy.
Three out of four Americans - including 62 percent of Republicans, 84 percent of Democrats and 77 percent of Independents - support "a five-year moratorium on new coal-fired power plants in the United States if there was stepped-up investment in clean, safe renewable energy -- such as wind and solar -- and improved home energy-efficiency standards."
Solar and wind power would be the choice of more than three out of five Americans (62 percent) if they could tell their "power company or utility where to get the power to run [their] house," compared to 12 percent for nuclear and 3 percent for coal.
Roughly nine out of 10 Americans (86 percent) - including 78 percent of Republicans, 93 percent of Democrats and 87 percent of Independents - agree with the following statement: "A sound energy policy is central to solving some of the most urgent problems facing our country. An energy policy that promotes clean power would encourage innovation, create new jobs and make for a stronger economy. It also allows the U.S. to disentangle itself from unstable and hostile regions of the world while also reducing harmful greenhouse gas emissions."
More than three out of five Americans (63 percent) - including 47 percent of Republicans, 75 percent of Democrats and 65 percent of Independents - think that global warming is a problem and "we have limited time to figure out the solutions to it."Only 10 percent of Americans of think that global warming is a problem, but that there is "plenty of time" to deal with it.By contrast, 16 percent of Americans - including 32 percent of Republicans, 5 percent of Democrats and 18 percent of Independents - say that global warming is not a problem "so no solutions are needed."
More than four out of five Americans (82 percent) - including 69 percent of Republicans, 91 percent of Democrats and 82 percent of Independents - think that "the United States should be a leader not a follower when it comes to action on global warming."Only 14 percent think that the U.S. should wait for other nations, including China and India to act first.
Seven out of 10 Americans have either "no confidence" (26 percent) or a "small degree of confidence" (44 percent) that "our current elected officials in the United States will act decisively on global warming issues."Only about one in four (27 percent) say they have a "high" (7 percent) or "good" (20 percent) level of confidence in our leaders.
More than four out of five Americans (83 percent) - including 75 percent of Republicans, 89 percent of Democrats and 77 percent of Independents - agree:"The effects of global warming require that we take timely and decisive steps for renewable, safe and clean energy sources. We need transitional technologies on our path to energy independence. There are tough choices to be made and tradeoffs. We cannot afford to postpone decisions since there are no perfect options."
The full survey findings and analysis are available online at http://www.CleanEnergyAction.net.
SURVEY METHODOLOGY
The Civil Society Institute/CLEAN survey telephone survey was conducted by Opinion Research Corporation among a sample of 1,005 adults (502 men and 503 women) aged 18 and older living in private households in the Continental United States. Interviewing was completed June 12-15, 2008.
The survey was weighted by four variables: age, sex, geographic region and race to ensure reliable and accurate representation of the total population. The margin of error for surveys with samples of around 1,000 respondents is plus or minus 3 percent. Smaller sub-groups will have larger error margins.
Six earlier phone surveys conducted for the Civil Society Institute contained some of those same questions and the data are quoted in the CSI/CLEAN survey report for trend-tracking purposes. Those earlier surveys were conducted: June 17-20, 2005 among 1,017 adults; September 15-18, 2005 among 1,019 adults; April 19-22, 2007 among 1,013 adults; September 21-25, 2006 among 2,055 adults; September 27-30, 2007 among 1,003 adults; January 11-14, 2008 among 1,001 adults, and; February 7-10, 2008 among 1,006 adults.
ABOUT CSI AND CLEAN
The nonprofit and nonpartisan Civil Society Institute (http://www.CivilSocietyInstitute.org) is a think tank that serves as a catalyst for change by creating problem-solving interactions among people, and between communities, government and business that can help to improve society.Since 2003, CSI has conducted more than 20 major surveys and reports since 2003 on energy and auto issues, including vehicle fuel-efficiency standards, consumer demand for hybrids/other highly-fuel efficient vehicles, global warming and renewable energy.
The Civil Society Institute worked with grassroots organizations across the United States to help launch Citizens Lead for Energy Action Now (CLEAN) at http://www.CleanEngeryAction.net. CSI also is the parent organization of 40MPG.org (http://www.40MPG.org) and the Hybrid Owners of America (http://www.HybridOwnersofAmerica.org).
CONTACT: Ailis Aaron Wolf at (703) 276-3265 or aawolf@hastingsgroup.com.
EDITOR'S NOTE:A streaming audio recording of the today's news conference is available at http://www.CleanEnergyAction.net.
