Energy Crisis

Mar 9, 2010 USA Today
Poll: African Americans will pay higher energy bills to reduce global warming
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.
The findings are the result of a survey conducted during the last three weeks of November. The Joint Center contacted 500 African American adults in each of
four states: Arkansas, Indiana, Missouri, and South Carolina. President Obama got sky-high approval ratings from black voters in all four states.
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. It would require companies that exceed government-set levels of greenhouse gas emissions to pay fines or buy credits from other companies. The youngest black voters -- those under 25 -- supported the plan.
The black voters surveyed said they are likely to vote in the fall midterm elections, a forecast that could bode well for Democrats running in some key Senate races. 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.