Survey: Hike electricity costs, not fuel

WASHINGTON, June 21 (UPI) -- U.S. researchers have discovered most Americans want the government to limit global warming -- but want that effort directed at specific areas.

New Scientist magazine -- along with Stanford University and Resources for the Future, an independent think tank -- commissioned the survey research firm Knowledge Networks to query a representative sample of 1,491 U.S. adults concerning ways to cut greenhouse pollution.

Participants indicated they would support U.S. policies to combat global warming, if those policies didn't have a severe negative impact on their finances.

Among the survey's results:

-- People have a strong preference for action in the electricity sector rather than vehicle fuel; all the electricity policies suggested won majority support, but none of the vehicle fuel policies gained majority backing.

-- U.S. citizens prefer standards in which companies are told exactly what to do to curb emissions, rather than so-called cap-and-trade schemes.

Western U.S. residents are more likely to favor policies to limit global warming than those in other regions of the nation. Parents and people with higher incomes were also more likely to support action.

The report is featured in New Scientist magazine's June 23 issue and is available at http://environment.newscientist.com/channel/earth/mg19426091.500-exclusive-global-warming-poll-the-buck-stops-here.html.