Originally Published on www.redgreenandblue.org Aug 13, 2009.

In a recent Zogby telephone poll conducted to gauge public opinion on the the Waxman-Markey climate bill, the results showed that a majority of Americans are finally behind climate legislation. The Waxman-Markey climate bill sets out to limit greenhouse gases in the US in order to combat climate change. The bill was just narrowly passed in congress last June by a vote of 219-212.

In the recent past, Americans have shown no interest in changing policy to limit greenhouse gasses, yet shockingly the results of this latest poll show that a whopping 71% of Americans support this bill. The poll also showed that Americans of every age, income group, and political affiliation support the bill much more than previously thought. An enormous win for those of us who want to see reduction in greenhouse gasses.

As predicted the poll results ran higher in the direction of Democrats, but for the first time Republicans and Independents seem to be on board.

Here is a run down on what the poll found:

Favorable View of the Bill:

• Democrats – 89%
• Independents – 73%
• Republicans – 45%

Climate Bill and Employment:

• 68% believe the bill would stimulate job growth.
• 51% believed promoting clean energy and fighting global warming would promote job growth.
• 17% believed the bill would have no effect on jobs.
• 29% believed that the bill would have a negative impact on employment.

As you may know the bill was delayed in the Senate until September. The poll showed:

Climate Bill and the Senate:

• 54% think the Senate should act now.
• 41% feel they should wait.

Support for your Congressperson:

• 47% said they would view their congressperson more favorably if they voted for a climate bill.
• 21% said it would make no difference.
• 29% said they would view their congressperson more negatively if they voted for a climate bill.

All and all, it seems that finally most Americans are looking to take action to stop climate change. This is a good sign for all of us who want to see a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions here and around the world.

Source: www.zogby.com

Image Credit: woodleywonderworks on Flickr

July 20th, 2009 was the 40th anniversary of Apollo 11’s historic flight to the moon, where astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first human beings to walk on the moon. 40 years ago, space flight inspired such awe that astronauts were hailed as heroes and celebrities by men, women, and children alike. 40 years later none of us, besides the most avid space fanatic, would likely to be able to name one astronaut in service today.

Despite the tragedies of Space Shuttle Challenger, and later Columbia, where the world is shocked into being reminded of the inherit dangers of sitting on 1 million gallons of rocket fuel, or re-entering the earth’s atmosphere at 1,870 miles per hour. We all see space flight as mundane because the vast majority of space flights since Apollo 11, have been mostly conducting seemingly routine scientific experiments. Now don’t get me wrong, I believe in the importance of science in space, but these experiments don’t exactly inspire awe in the general population like, oh say, a manned mission to Mars would. We also don’t have the fever of beating those damned Ruskies because they might go to space and blow us all up, which we had during the height of the cold war when Apollo 11 touched down on the lunar Sea of Tranquility.

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