The aggressive slew of new oil and natural gas regulations coming down the pipeline from Colorado Democrats this legislative session could cause bystanders to assume Coloradans don’t want additional domestic oil and natural gas production. A Gallup poll, published on March 27, 2013, shows that to be inaccurate in our region and nationally. According to the results of the polling:
“…natural gas, which 59% of Democrats, 62% of Independents, and 79% of Republicans say should have more emphasis in the U.S. The technology exists to allow natural gas to become a more significant contributor to U.S. domestic energy production.”
While the results nationwide are clear, the regional reports show that 68% of respondents in the West believe that the U.S. should place “More Emphasis” on natural gas production. While a similarly large number of respondents also favored solar and wind power, the survey acknowledges that “these potential future sources of energy have a long way to go in terms of technology and affordability before they can affect overall U.S. domestic energy production.”
The survey also asked for preferences surrounding solar, wind, oil, nuclear power, and coal. The survey results were based on telephone interviews conducted March 7-10, 2013 with a random sample of 1,022 adults in all 50 states.
With Democrats’ heavy reliance on polling in order to guide their “principles”, it’s surprising that they missed the mark by so much on this one.