There's plenty of discussion about climate change and greenhouse gas emissions, but are we ready to actually do something substantive about reducing those emissions?
Based on a national public opinion survey by CLOSUP, the Center for Local, State and Urban Policy at the University of Michigan’s Ford School of Public Policy, the answer appears to be, "yes."
According to Barry Rabe, a professor of public policy at the University of Michigan, the survey focused on the EPA’s Clean Power Plan, based on President Obama’s decision to apply legislation from the Clean Air Act Amendments -- passed in 1990 -- to carbon dioxide standards.
“In this case, the Clean Power Plan would address carbon emissions from all operational power plants in the U.S. and then over a period of time -- more than a decade -- create a fairly substantial reduction in their carbon emissions,” Rabe said.
The CLOSUP survey, concluded at the end of last year, surveyed American opinions on the matter. The result? Two-thirds reacted positively to the Clean Power Plan.
Rabe went on to say that while the Clean Power Plan is “a national standard, a federal set of requirements,” each state is able to decide how it will accomplish the required reductions.
Listen to the rest of the conversation above.
