Would it surprise you to learn that solar power and other renewable resources are favored 2:1 by American citizens over traditional energy resources like coal and gas?
Recently, two polling companies, representing each of the major political parties in the U.S., determined that twice as many U.S. citizens favor solar and clean energy than those who don’t. A full 62% of the people surveyed support continued government investment in clean energy systems that create green jobs. On the other hand, 31% stated that they believed it was a waste of taxpayer money to do so.
Democrat polester Fairbank, Maslin, Maullin, Metz & Associates (FM3) conducted the poll with Republican pollster Public Opinion Strategies. The companies work independently on many issues, but together on others like solar power. In this case, they were conducting a poll on behalf of a coalition of clean energy groups in Ohio.
The timing of of the poll was right after the announcement that solar energy company Solyndra filed for bankruptcy, after receiving a government loan. So, an underlying question was whether Americans would respond with an unfavorable view of the solar industry overall and lack of support. Fortunately, the results showed that people are viewing the Solyndra bankruptcy as a as just one bad company that was an isolated case.
Perhaps not surprisingly, support for solar power is higher among Democrats (77%) than Republicans (49%).
What would your answer be? Are you in favor of solar power and other renewables, or not?