COLORADO ENERGY/CLIMATE SURVEY: MOST IN STATE OPPOSE MORE "SUBPRIME" INVESTMENTS IN COAL, NUCLEAR POWER

86 Percent Want Limits on Subsidies for Oil Shale Production, 76 Percent Support Moratorium on New Coal-Fired Power Plants; Strong Majority Back Shift to Clean Wind and Solar Power.

DENVER, CO. & WASHINGTON, D.C.///October 16, 2008/// If elected officials in Denver and Washington, D.C. are going to continue investing in energy through subsidies, tax breaks and other incentives, the focus should shift from coal and nuclear power to promoting wind and solar energy, enhanced energy efficiency, and highly fuel-efficient vehicles, according to a new survey of 600 Colorado adults conducted for TheCLEAN.org and the Civil Society Institute (CSI) by the leading U.S. survey firm Opinion Research Corporation (ORC). The CLEAN/CSI survey was released today with Western Colorado Congress (WCC).

Key CLEAN/Civil Society Institute survey findings include the following:

• A halt to construction of new coal-fired power plants is supported by most Colorado adults. Just over three out four respondents in Colorado (76 percent) and 73 percent of Americans would 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. The moratorium on new coal-fired power plants is favored in Colorado by 57 percent of Republicans, 89 percent of Democrats and 82 percent of Independents.
• Only 9 percent of Colorado residents favor subsidies for oil shale production in the state with no environmental controls. Nearly two out of five state residents (38 percent) favor no subsidies at all for oil shale; roughly half (48 percent) believe that subsidies for oil shale should only exist with "strict environmental controls." Taken together, the latter two data points mean that nearly nine out of 10 Colorado Residents favor eliminating or placing strong conditions on oil shale subsidies.
• Nearly nine out of 10 Colorado residents (87 percent) believe that "natural gas companies should have to provide information to nearby communities and residents about hazardous chemicals used and produced in natural gas production." Only about one in 10 (11 percent) disagree on the grounds that "disclosure of hazardous chemicals would give information to competitors and harm the gas company."

Civil Society Institute President and Founder Pam Solo said: "Colorado residents deserve credit for understanding that more investment by the state and federal governments in coal and nuclear power is essentially the same thing as investing in subprime mortgages. If Colorado taxpayers are going to directly or indirectly underwrite energy development and energy-intensive industries --- such as the auto industry --- we need to insist that state officials in Denver and the next Congress and President make good, solid investments that make sense for the long-term of our country. The only energy investments that rise above the 'subprime' level today are wind, solar and other clean renewable energy in concert with enhanced energy efficiency."

Peggy Utesch, member, Western Colorado Congress, and chair of the Western Organization of Resource Council (WORC) Oil and Gas Campaign Team, said: "Given the current economic problems, Coloradans should be skeptical about subsidizing oil shale development. The technologies for developing oil shale are still uncertain. Until we know what technologies will be used, it is impossible to evaluate and respond to the impacts of full scale oil shale development. Before the federal government proceeds with finalizing commercial oil shale regulations and begins leasing vast tracts of public land, the impacts on our water, air, wildlife and communities must be fully understood and acceptable to local communities."

Grant Smith, national project coordinator for TheCLEAN.org, added: "Investments in coal and nuclear power are the Countrywide Financial subprime mortgages of the energy world. What the public is saying in this survey is that we support government making investments in the energy sources of tomorrow, but we have to stop flushing money down the drain by propping up the failing energy sources of yesterday, including oil, coal and nuclear. It makes no sense to be making 50-year investments in new coal-fired power plants. Energy efficiency and renewable technologies already have overtaken, in many instances, or will soon overtake, in other instances, coal-fired power in terms of direct cost and are far superior in terms of financial risk, economic benefit, and the ability address global warming. There is no viable model under which new nuclear power plants can be constructed as anything other than multi-billion-dollar public works boondoggles. After the current financial debacle on Wall Street, it is hard to imagine that Americans are going to allow more dumb investments by Denver and Washington on the wrong energy sources."

Opinion Research Corporation Senior Vice President Wayne Russum said: "What we see in our survey work is that national and state-level attitudes about energy and climate action vary relatively little. In fact, in some respects, the residents of Colorado are even more inclined than other Americans to look beyond coal and other carbon-based fuels to renewable energy sources."

OTHER KEY FINDINGS

TheCLEAN.org/Civil Society Institute survey conducted by Opinion Research Corporation also found the following about the views of Colorado residents:

• Almost two out of three Colorado residents (62 percent) want the new President and Congress to seek "independence from foreign energy primarily (by) promoting energy sources such as wind or solar, more conservation of energy, and hybrid or other highly fuel-efficient cars." Only a third of state residents favor achieving "independence from foreign energy primarily by promoting energy sources such as more coal-fired power plants, oil from offshore drilling and nuclear power." Just one in 50 state residents sees no need to change U.S. consumption of foreign energy.
• Most Colorado residents want to see government aid for wind and solar power put on the same or better footing than coal-fired and nuclear power plants. Over half of Colorado residents (52 percent) and the same number nationwide want the government to "evenly divide" any subsidies, tax breaks or other incentives for new construction "between nuclear power and coal-fired power plants and energy sources such as wind and solar." About a third (32 percent) of those in Colorado and 30 percent of Americans would go further, having the government "shift all or most of them from nuclear power and coal-fired power plants to energy sources such as wind and solar." Only 11 percent of those in Colorado and one in 10 Americans would "keep the incentives for nuclear power and coal-fired power the way they are today."
• Wind and solar are seen by Colorado residents as the future of energy for America. In Colorado, 71 percent of respondents see oil and 68 percent coal as power sources of yesterday. This compares to more than two out of three Americans who now see coal (70 percent) and oil (67 percent) as the "power sources of yesterday." By contrast, solar and wind are seen as "power sources of tomorrow" by 92 and 93 percent of those in Colorado and 92 percent and 88 percent of Americans, respectively.
• Colorado residents pick clean energy over coal and nuclear power. Two out of three Americans and 68 percent of those in Colorado would ask for wind, solar and other renewable energy technologies if they could "tell your power or utility company where to get the power to run your house." By contrast, only 8 percent nationally would pick nuclear power (10 percent in Colorado) and just 3 percent would pick "coal-generated power" nationally versus 3 percent in Colorado.
• Most Colorado residents know that time is running out to deal with global warming. More two thirds of those in Colorado (67 percent) and a similar proportion of Americans (63 percent) believe that "global warming is a problem and we have limited time to figure out the solutions to it.
• The vast majority of those in Colorado see a positive or neutral economic impact from dealing with global warming. Fewer than one in five in Colorado (18 percent) and the nation as a whole (17 percent) believe that "action on global warming will hurt the U.S. economy," while over half (57 percent in Colorado and 51 percent in the US) believe "action on global warming will create new jobs and investment. About a quarter (23 percent in the state and 28 percent nationwide) says that such action "will neither help nor hurt the economy."
• Today's politicians are not seen as likely to act on climate issues. Two out of five in Colorado and in the nation as a whole, have "only a small degree of confidence" or "no confidence" (27 percent in US and 33 percent in Colorado) that "our current elected officials in the United States will act decisively on global warming issues."
• Energy issues will figure prominently at the ballot box in November in Colorado. About nine out of 10 respondents in Colorado (89 percent) and 91 percent in the nation as a whole say that "the views of candidates on energy-related issues -- such as gasoline prices, home heating oil prices, global warming and energy independence" will be important as they vote in 2008. Of this amount nearly three in five (59 percent in Colorado and 58 percent in the US) say that energy issues will be "very important" to how they vote.

Other key findings include the following:

• More than three out of four Americans (78 percent) and even more in Colorado (84 percent) agree with the following statement: "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."
• Nine out of ten Colorado residents agree with 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?"
• More than four out of five Colorado residents (85 percent) and the same percentage nationwide do not think "the federal government is doing enough about high energy prices and the U.S. dependence on Middle Eastern energy sources."
• Over half (52 percent) of Americans -- and an even higher share of Colorado residents (55 percent) -- are more likely to "buy a hybrid, clean-diesel or other more fuel-efficient vehicle now" than they were six months ago.
• Three out of four Colorado residents and just under seven out of 10 Americans (69 percent) think "the U.S. government should set 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.

For complete survey findings, go to http://theCLEAN.org.

SURVEY METHODOLOGY

The TheCLEAN.org/Civil Society Institute poll conducted by Opinion Research Corporation's CARAVAN Services was a telephone survey conducted among a sample of 600 adults (300 men and 300 women) aged 18 and older living in private households in the state of Colorado. Interviewing was completed October 1-5, 2008. The survey was weighted by age and gender to ensure reliable and accurate representation of the total population. The margin of error for surveys with samples of around 600 respondents, at the 95 percent confidence level, is plus or minus 4 percentage points. Smaller sub-groups in any survey will have larger error margins.

ABOUT CSI AND THECLEAN.ORG

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 on energy and auto issues, including vehicle fuel-efficiency standards, consumer demand for hybrids/other highly-fuel efficient vehicles, global warming and renewable energy. In addition to being a co-convener of TheCLEAN.org, the Civil Society Institute also is the parent organization of 40MPG.org (http://www.40MPG.org) and the Hybrid Owners of America (http://www.HybridOwnersofAmerica.org).

TheClean.org (http://theCLEAN.org) is a collaborative movement of state and local organizations and individuals who will encourage and support policy makers at all levels of government to implement new energy policies. The Civil Society Institute worked with grassroots organizations across the United States to help organize the TheClean.org campaign.

ABOUT WCC

Based in Grand Junction, the Western Colorado Congress is an alliance for community action empowering people to protect and enhance their quality of life in western Colorado. For more information, go to http://wccongress.org on the Web.

CONTACT: Ailis Aaron Wolf, (703) 276-3265 or aaaron@hastingsgroup.com.

EDITOR'S NOTE: A streaming audio recording of the related Colorado news event will be available on the Web as of 4 p.m. MT/6 p.m. ET on October 16, 2008 at http://theClean.org and http://www.civilsocietyinstitute.org.