It’s like everyone took a look at the high oil prices, and the high gas prices and remembered that looking at a couple of wind turbines isn’t that bad! Support for the Cape Wind turbine farm project in Nantucket Sound has climbed to its highest level ever statewide (86 percent) and on the Cape/Islands (74 percent). Duh! Once the latest Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) was released that showed that Cape Wind would be good for EVERYONE, it seems like a no brainer.

This new scientific survey of more than 1,200 state residents was conducted by the Opinion Research Corporation (ORC) for the independent Civil Society Institute, a nonprofit and nonpartisan think tank located in Newton, MA.

Key survey findings include the following:

— 87 percent of state residents — including 77 percent of Cape Cod/Islands residents — are now “more likely to support Cape Wind” in the wake of the draft MMS environmental impact statement finding “no major harms to the environment resulting from the Cape Wind project for Nantucket Sound.” Nearly half (46 percent) of those still opposed to Cape Wind say that the MMS report now makes them more likely to support the clean energy project.

— Support for Cape Wind in Massachusetts statewide has grown to 86 percent — compared to 84 percent in August 2007 and 81 percent in June 2006 surveys posing the same question.

— The growth in support for the Cape Wind project in Cape Cod/the Islands is even more striking — rising to 74 percent in the new recent survey, compared to 61 percent in October 2007 (in a survey limited to Cape Cod/Islands residents) and 58 percent in August 2007.

— More than nine out of 10 state residents (94 percent) — including 82 percent of Cape Cod/Islands residents — think the Bay State should be “a national leader in using cleaner and renewable energy on a large scale by moving ahead with offshore wind power, and other alternative-energy initiatives.”

— Nearly all state residents (95 percent) say that Massachusetts should seek to spark another “Massachusetts Miracle” in the vein of the Route 128 tech boom by “seeking to create new jobs and industries by becoming a national hub for new energy technology development.”

— Nearly all state residents (95 percent) think it is “important” that “Massachusetts take the steps needed now to ‘unplug’ itself from coal- and oil-based power and ‘plug in’ to solar, wind and other clean energy sources.”

Civil Society Institute President and Founder Pam Solo said: “This new survey makes it clear that the widely publicized draft report issuing a clean bill of health to Cape Wind has further improved how the public looks at the project. That is true both statewide and among Cape/Islands residents. In the process, the survey debunks the notion that there is any sizable public opposition to Cape Wind. Instead, what we see is that Massachusetts residents are way ahead of the politicians today in recognizing the serious threat posed by global warming and the need for immediate and comprehensive energy policy changes, including moving ahead on Cape Wind.”

Or to put it simply, hey Kerry and Kennedy and Delahunt get off your fat asses and follow the will of the people. No one cares if thats where you sail your yacht, no one cares if you might see these things from your giant beach front compound, what they want is clean renewable energy and they want it 3 years ago.

Opinion Research Corporation Senior Researcher Graham Hueber said: “It is clear from these numbers that an overwhelming majority of Massachusetts residents — regardless of where they live — want to see more clean energy used in the state. And they want to see state policies and practices changed in a way that the state can become a true national hub for energy-related innovation and leadership, with all that would mean in terms of high-paying jobs and other benefits. It is striking that you can see throughout these numbers a consistent 80-90 percent of state residents agreeing on the path that Massachusetts should take to redefine itself going forward.”

The federal Minerals Management Service will hold four public hearings on its draft Environment Impact Statement (EIS) on Cape Wind:

Monday, March 10, 2008 – Cape Cod, 6:00PM-12:00AM, Mattacheese Middle School Auditorium, West Yarmouth, MA;

Tuesday, March 11, 2008 – Nantucket, 5:00PM-10:00PM, Nantucket High School Auditorium, Nantucket, MA;

Wednesday, March 12, 2008 – Martha’s Vineyard, 5:00PM-10:00PM, Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School Auditorium, Oak Bluffs, MA;

Thursday, March 13, 2008 – Boston, 6:00PM-12:00AM, Campus Center Ballroom, University of Massachusetts, Boston. For more information about the MMS draft D.