Ohioans aren’t alone in wanting to rein in coal plant emissions.
Survey results released last week showed a majority of Ohio registered voters — Republicans and Democrats — support regulating carbon dioxide as a pollutant. A new batch of data from the same source shows the same is true across the country.
The Yale Program on Climate Change Communication released results Wednesday from a national poll conducted between Oct. 20 and Nov. 1. The web-based survey was completed by 1,304 adults with a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percent. It found:
Most registered voters support carbon emission limits: More than two-thirds favor setting strict CO2 emission limits on existing coal-fired power plants to reduce global warming and improve public health, even if it means higher electricity costs.
Many Republicans support renewable energy: Three-quarters of Republicans support increasing funding for renewable energy research and almost half support requiring utilities to produce 20 percent of electricity from renewables, even at an extra cost per household of $100 per year.
Republicans and Democrats divided on public land use: Overall, almost half of registered voters support mining and drilling for oil, gas or coal on public lands. Support was 66 percent among Republicans compared to 26 percent among Democrats. The issue has been controversial, including a fight over fracking in Ohio’s Wayne National Forest.
Unlike last week’s localized data from 2016 polling, the new 2017 results were not broken down by state or congressional district. The full report, including data tables and methodology, is available online.