From Byrum & Fisk Advocacy Communications ...
LANSING – Michigan residents are thirsting for change in federal clean energy policies, according to poll results set to be released Wednesday by one of the nation’s most respected polling firms.
Leaders from business to science to labor called for quick action as clean energy legislation, known as the Clean Energy Jobs & American Power Act, is being introduced in the U.S. Senate.
“Michigan voters believe that clean energy legislation will help recharge the economy and help Michigan become a leader in clean, alternative energy, and create jobs and bring business to the state by an overwhelming margin,” said Al Quinlan, vice president of national polling firm Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research. “The research clearly indicates that Michigan voters believe that the country should move in a different direction on energy policy that has at its core an investment in clean, alternative energy.”
The poll of likely voters found that:
- 58 percent of Michiganders believe the energy plan will help recharge the economy and help Michigan become a leader in clean, alternative energy create jobs and bring business to the state
- 51 percent of voters are “more likely” to support a candidate who votes for the clean energy legislation, while just 31 percent are “less likely” to support that candidate.
“Clean energy legislation isn’t just a matter of jobs – it’s also about protecting public health,” said Dr. Dean Sienko, medical director of the Ingham County Health Department. “Scientists in Michigan and across the globe have linked climate changes and extreme weather to a host of health problems – lung and respiratory diseases, cancer, asthma, heat exhaustion and heat stroke. Our health and quality of life are at stake today and for generations to come.”
Dianne Holman, principal of Working Bugs LLC, a clean energy company based in East Lansing, said: “Businesses support clean energy legislation because it will create Michigan jobs, benefit businesses and jumpstart our economy. Clean energy legislation will make Michigan a 21st century clean energy leader, in advanced auto batteries, wind and solar. The status quo policies of the past will leave Michigan behind and lose jobs to China, India and Europe, which are investing in clean energy.”
Jim Byrum, president of the Michigan Agri-Business Association, said: “Michigan agriculture recognizes that clean and renewable energy is critical to our future, in terms of diversifying our businesses, while providing new opportunities for growth and protecting our Great Lakes, land and air for future agriculture businesses. Michigan agriculture is the second-largest industry in Michigan, generating more than $70 billion a year and creating a million jobs. Clean and renewable energy is the future – and Michigan agriculture wants to be a part of that future.”
The statewide survey of 600 likely voters was conducted Aug. 24-27. The poll’s margin of error is plus/minus 4 percentage points.
