Rochester, MI. 4-26-2010
In a just completed unscientific poll of visitors to the Rochester, MI Earth Day Fest, 2010, The US Renewable Energy Association found only 2.9% of 860 people new enough about the proposed cap and trade bill to offer and opinion as to whether it would help or hurt the Renewable Energy Industry. In the end, 13 people that voted felt cap and trade would be helpful while 12 felt it would be harmful.
According to Gerry Zack, USREA President, “we provided two different forms asking a very simple question. One form was for visitors that felt the Cap and Trade bill would help the renewable energy industry, and the other form was for visitors that felt it would harm the renewable energy industry.” A summary was provided regarding each position for people that were unaware of positions for or against the legislation.
Perhaps the most startling revelation from the poll is that of more than 860 people asked to participate, less than 3% felt they understood the legislation enough to offer an opinion. This leaves 97% of those asked either totally or partly unaware of the proposed legislation.
According to Zack, “we engaged visitors at our booth whenever we had the opportunity. We gave no opinion ourselves when asked, in an effort to limit any influence on the poll. We generally summarized the positions of each camp, when asked, both for and against the legislation. It was most striking to me that most people said they either never heard of cap and trade or didn’t know enough about it to form an opinion.”
The Earth Day Fest is a yearly event held in celebration of the Earth Day holiday.
USREA is a Renewable Energy Association that promotes the renewable energy industry. The web site offers a unique content and advertising network with product, industry news, objective third-party information and research tools. USREA launched in 2008 as an online Renewable Energy portal that facilitates the research and purchase processes for consumers and as an access point for dealers and manufacturers. Development of the site continues on an ongoing basis. The web site and blog encourage participation by educational institutions and renewable enthusiasts, while providing discounts to renewable products and services through participating advertisers.
For more information, visit the https://www.usrea.org web site or contact USREA.
