Over at Scaling Green, I posted yesterday about a series of new polls by Public Opinion Strategies which find that “despite the millions of dollars opponents poured into attacks on the [clean energy] industry,” voters in key swing states – including Virginia – “support clean, secure, and affordable energy.” I thought it would be worthwhile to post some of the key graphics over here at Blue Virginia. Note that Virginians, by an enormous 51-point margin, support using cleaner sources of energy instead of coal. In addition, large majorities of Virginian voters would be more favorably inclined towards a candidate who advocates shifting to clean energy, supports using public money to fund investment in clean energy sources, and favors requiring utilities to generate a greater share of their electricity from wind and solar than from the same ol’ same ol’ (in Virginia’s case, coal).
Not that the Bob McDonnells and Ken Kookinellis of the world would ever place what Virginia voters want ahead of what their big donors from the fossil fuel industry want, but in 2013, we’ll have an opportunity to replace these dirty energy tools. I urge Democrats to make this an issue in next year’s campaigns…