How the Enviroment Could Make or Break the Presidential Race
Friday, May 25, 2012 at 8:00AM | Share Article How the Enviroment Could Make or Break the Presidential Race
A survey that was conducted for Yale and the George Mason University has shown that the public would be more likely to vote for a presidential candidate that had Global Warming along with environment and climate change issues as one of their top priorities. They want a politician that is willing to make an effort to safeguard our environment.
At the heart of the survey was 61% being in favor of a tax swap where taxes on fossil fuels like coal, oil, and natural gas were raised while income taxes are lowered. Revenue to the federal government would stay the same, but come from different sources. And such a tax swap has some bipartisan support, as it is backed by former Vice President Al Gore (Democrat) and former congressman Bob Inglis (Republican).
This stands in contrast with the position taken by congressional Democrat in 2010, where they looked to lower carbon emissions by increasing the costs of fossil fuels. Despite the Democrats portraying themselves as being the greener party, their legislation died in the Senate, as runs opposite to the popular support that the tax swaps enjoy. According to Anthony Leiserowitz with the Yale Project on Climate Change Communication, the tax swap has majority support among both parties as well as independents.
The survey also showed the chasm between the public at large and members of Congress. Typically, environmental legislation is opposed by Republicans, even though two thirds of the identified Republican voters in the survey were in favor of the tax swap, and over half feel that global warming warrants at least a medium priority among congressional members. And of course the Democrats haven’t even approached the tax swap even though their voters overwhelmingly support it.
Even Barrack Obama chimed into the debate, first by running as an environmental candidate in 2008 and by further showing his support by stating his opinion in an interview for Rolling Stone that mirrors the popular opinion of the survey. He showed his concern that the issues of climate change would need to become an important part of a campaign that would stand a chance of getting the attention of the public and coming out victorious. He intended to make his standing on the environment well known in future debates.
Mitt Romney, while attempting to gather the Republican presidential nomination, has also recently realized the importance of the views on whether human activities are causing climate changes and if the answer can be found through dna diagnostics.
Through this survey the public has made it clear that the concern for the environment is an issue that they want to see the candidates make a priority. This is a subject that could bring a runner to the forefront and give the distinct advantage if the other side isn’t willing to take their concerns to heart.
Tom is a writer for GTLDNA, writing on a variety of health and enviornment topics.
