Poll: African Americans Will Pay Higher Energy Bills to Reduce Global Warming
Kathy Kiely, USA Today, March 8, 2010
African American voters want Congress to enact legislation to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, even if it means higher energy bills, a just-released survey by the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies has found.
The Washington-based think tank, which tracks voting trends in the black community, also found that African American voters are following this year’s congressional races closely and plan to vote in large numbers.
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Large majorities of African Americans in all four states said they are willing to pay an extra $10 per month for electricity to combat global warming, the survey found. But the numbers drop off sharply if the hypothetical energy bills rise: Only about one in six of those surveyed said they would be willing to pay as much as $50 extra a month to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
While a majority of African Americans in all four states believe global warming is a problem, the Joint Center survey found a generation gap when it comes to Congress’ proposed solution: Older black voters opposed the “cap and trade” system proposed in a House-passed bill. {snip}
{snip} African Americans gave high marks to Arkansas Sen. Blanche Lincoln, a top GOP target this year, and to Missouri Secretary of State Robin Carnahan, running against Rep. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., to take the place of retiring Sen. Kit Bond, a Republican.
[The Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies’s report “Opinion of African Americans on Climate Change and 2010 Midterm Elections: The Results of a Multi-State Poll” can be downloaded as a PDF file here.]
