High gasoline prices have dramatically changed Americans’ views on energy and the environment with more people now viewing oil drilling and new power plants as a greater priority than energy conservation than they did five months ago, according to a new survey.
The poll released on Tuesday by the Pew Research Center shows nearly half of those surveyed — or 47 percent — now rate energy exploration, drilling and building new power plants as the top priority, compared with 35 percent who believed that five months ago.
The Pew poll, conducted late last month, showed the number of people who consider energy conservation as more important declined by 10 percentage points since February from a clear majority to 45 percent. People are now about evenly split on which is more important.
The number of people who said they considered increasing energy supplies more important than protecting the environment increased from 54 percent in February to 60 percent and the number of people who favor oil drilling in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge also increased.
“This shows the real impact of higher gas prices on the public,” said Carroll Doherty, associate director for the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press, which commissioned the telephone survey of 2,004 adults from June 18 to June 29.
The margin of error was plus or minus 2.5 percentage points, slightly larger for subgroups.
Since February, gasoline prices have soared to a national average of US$1.05 a liter, the Energy Department said.
The shift toward embracing more energy production was seen across different age and political groups, reflecting a change in attitudes among Democrats, independents, women, and young people — all groups that in the past have generally championed conservation over energy development.
The survey comes as the US Congress is in the midst of a bitter debate over how to respond to the country’s energy problems.
Republican Senator John McCain has called for building more nuclear power plants and ending a blanket moratorium on drilling in 85 percent of the country’s coastal waters. Democrat Senator Barack Obama, has emphasized incentives for conservation and development of alternative energy sources and opposes expanded offshore drilling.
Likewise, Democrats have been pushing for more conservation and energy alternatives in Congress and argued the country cannot drill its way out of its energy problems. Congressional Republicans argue the answer is more domestic energy production, including on federal lands and waters off limits because of environmental concerns.
The Pew poll, however, showed Republicans and Democrats moving closer together on the production versus conservation dispute.
The number of Democrats who said they saw increased production as the top priority jumped by 16 percentage points since February to 46 percent. Republicans holding that view declined from about half to 43 percent.
With the exception of the Arctic refuge, the poll did not address any specific energy proposals.
It sought to address general energy priorities, Doherty said.
Among the survey’s most surprising findings is the dramatic increase in a span of five months in the support for energy exploration and production among groups that have traditionally championed conservation as being the answer to the country’s energy problems.
For example, the percentage of liberals who said expanding energy exploration was their most important priority doubled from 22 percent in February to 45 percent; increased by 19 points to 50 percent among independents; and by 18 points to 46 percent among women.
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