Solar energy and climate change deniers

Even climate change deniers want more renewable energy. A report released Friday by the University of New Hampshire’s Carsey School of Public Policy found that a majority of Americans, including many Trump voters least likely to believe in climate change, believe in prioritizing renewable energy over oil drilling. Carsey school researchers surveyed 707 adults from every state before and after the election. They found that 75 percent of all respondents, regardless of political affiliation, said that renewable energy should be a higher national priority than oil drilling. Analyzed according to party, 93 percent of Clinton voters and 84 percent of nonvoters agreed. Trump voters were the only group that favored expanding oil drilling, but by a slim margin—48 percent preferred renewable energy. But the possibility of a promising trend has emerged:: before the election, only 39 percent of Trump supporters said the same.

Polls show solar power increasingly popular...even with Trump voters

The findings line up with the results of other recent polls. A Pew Survey in October, for instance, also found strong bipartisan support for green energy, leading Pew researchers to conclude that, while climate science is highly politicized, climate skepticism doesn’t transfer to all related issues: While there are considerable ideological differences over increasing fossil fuel and nuclear energy sources, majorities of all political groups support more solar and wind production. These patterns are most consistent with past Center findings that climate change and fossil fuel energy issues are strongly linked with party and ideology. However, political divisions have a much more modest relationship with public attitudes on other science-related topics. Based on survey results, representing renewable energy as a solution to climate change is unlikely to garner much support from this base. Unfortunately, Trump supporters aren’t budging on the issue of climate change. Only 25 percent of Trump supporters surveyed agree that man-made climate change is happening now. That’s in stark contrast to the 90 percent of Clinton supporters, 76 percent of nonvoters and 68 percent of third-party voters who have accepted the overwhelming scientific consensus on climate change.

Climate change deniers in the Trump administration

Trump and his allies, particularly Environmental Protection Agency pick Scott Pruitt, have run on a campaign of “soft denial” of climate change. It’s not just that they’re ignoring the scientific consensus, they’re doing so insidiously: moving from the absurdity of “climate change isn’t happening” to the intellectually dishonest position that scientists are still not in agreement. But as the effects of climate change become ever more apparent, it’s encouraging that we may see modest support for green energy initiatives, even amongst skeptics.

There has never been a better time to install a solar energy system!

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