A new poll released Tuesday by CNN reveals strong support for the "Cap and Trade" legislation proposed by Senators John Kerry and Barbara Boxer, with 60% of respondents stating they support limits for the amount of greenhouse gas emissions produced by power plants and factories, and fines for those that exceed them.
The poll found that younger respondents, those under 50, were even stronger in their support, with 68% stating they supported the limits on emissions.
The Kerry-Boxer bill focuses on creating clean energy jobs, increasing American energy production, and reducing pollution with the goal of fighting climate change -- the limits on the pollution that companies can produce is only one aspect of the legislation. What is interesting about the poll is that the participants were only asked about "Cap and Trade," a political term that has at times received lukewarm public support -- not the larger bill which focuses on green jobs, which generally received strong backing in opinion polls. That a less popular aspect of the bill received such strong public endorsement should come as good news that for those that support the legislation. The poll was released just as Senate hearings about the Kerry-Boxer bill began Tuesday -- Democrats are hoping to make progress on the bill and clear it out of committee in advance of the international climate talks in Copenhagen in December.
Click here to read the full summary from CNN.