The Sierra Club is touting new poll resultsthat show a majority of respondents favor more regulations on carbon dioxide pollution from power plants.The survey was conducted last month by progressive polling firm Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research. Pollsters surveyed 1000 registered voters across the country via land lines and cell phones.The results suggest that a large majority of those polled have a favorable opinion of the Environmental Protection Agency and believe that climate change is a problem and should be addressed by more regulations. Respondents also favored investing more in energy efficiency and renewable sources, and 58 percent said the country should move away from coal and fossil fuels entirely by the year 2030.Grace McRae is the Sierra Club’s polling and research strategist.“We at the Sierra Club think the results of this survey are a clear call for action,” she says. “Action by our local, state and national leaders to overcome gridlock and to advance real solutions to our nation’s energy, public health and climate challenges.”Interestingly, 56 percent of the people polled thought the EPA already regulates carbon dioxide from power plants, while 28 percent said the agency didn’t regulate carbon pollution. The EPA has proposed rules to limit carbon dioxide from new power plants, but those haven’t been finalized yet.Regardless of whether they thought the pollution was already regulated, a majority of those polled said they support federal regulations on carbon pollution from power plants—some 70 percent. Support was strongest among Hispanic and African American respondents.
