A report released Wednesday shows that two in three Americans support strict restrictions on carbon emissions at America’s coal-fired power plants—even after being told that the cost of electricity for consumers and companies would likely increase as a result of the restrictions.
The study, by Yale's Project on Climate Change Communication, also found that 66 percent of Americans believe that global warming is happening, up 3 percentage points since November 2013; only one in six deny climate change, a 7 percent reduction from last year.
Respondents strongly supported a range of policies that would reduce or protect against global warming: 83 percent for increased funding for making public infrastructure more resistant to extreme weather; 77 percent for funding more research into renewable energy; and 62 percent for requiring utilities companies to produce at least 20 percent of their electricity from wind, solar, or other renewable energy sources, even if the average household would have to pay an extra $100 a year.
The GOP ought to pay attention to this study. Their war on the EPA is also a war on prevailing public opinion.