The New York Times and CBS have released a very interesting new poll (pdf) showing among other things that the vast majority of Americans regardless of political party think that immediate action should be taken to combat global warming. Watch a video about the poll here, see the summary by the NY Times here.

Ninety percent of Democrats, 80 percent of independents and 60 percent of Republicans said immediate action was required to curb the warming of the atmosphere and deal with its effects on the global climate. Nineteen percent said it was not necessary to act now, and 1 percent said no steps were needed.(via)

This after another recent poll showed global warming and terrorism of equal concern in the minds of most Americans. Its really rather fascinating as it has trend data, sometimes spanning 20 or more years. Here are a few highlights.

Regardless of how people vote the majority of Americans think the democrats are better able to protect the environment. (57% dem 14% rep)

They think the Democratic party is more likely to make the US less dependant on foreign oil (50% dem to 24% rep)

87% think America should take the lead in addressing global environmental problems

52% thinks that protecting the environment is more important than the economy

57% think we should not drill in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

64% would pay higher taxes on gasoline to support research into renewable energy

52% thinks global warming is a very serious problem

75% would be willing to pay more for energy if it were generated by solar or wind

78% think it is necessary to take action to stop global warming right away

82% have never seen Al Gore’s movie An Inconvenient Truth

36% voted for Bush (as opposed to 33% for Kerry)

31% go to some religious service every week

Here is their view on energy supply

43% think coal is a good idea

51% think natural gas is a good idea

36% think nuclear is a good idea

87% think renewable energy is a good idea

70% think ethanol is a good idea

So what does all this mean? I have no idea, but here is what I “think” it means.

It means that the Democratic party has successfully cornered the environment issue. The republicans seem to be unable to convince people that they really care about the environment. Which is a shame, the environment should not be a party issue, it should be an everybody issue. I put a lot of this blame on Bush, his miserable record on the environment has overshadowed the handful of Republicans actively working to make positive things happen on this front. This also means the Democratic party is going to make huge gains as environmental issues become more and more prominent.

It also shows that people don’t know enough about ethanol, if they did they would be much more weary of it. Ethanol can be a good thing, but only if it is made in the right way, from the right stuff, in the right location. But on a positive note the public seems to be in favor of renewable energy. I am a bit concerned that only 8% thought that you could stimulate the economy AND protect the environment. Someone has convinced an awful lot of people that this is an either or choice. There is no sound reason why you can not have a strong economy and a good environment. In fact there are a lot of good evidence to show that they go hand in hand.

The biggest thing that stood out to me was the overall support for doing something about global warming and doing it now. Americans are willing to pay more for renewable energy, willing to support taxes for renewable energy, willing to conserve more. In short the American people are ready. What they lack is someone strong to lead the way. Lets hope that over the next year a strong environmental leader emerges.