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Survey reveals S.C. sportsmen want
action, leadership on global warming
May 24-June 7, Columbia City Paper, Columbia SC
by Corey Hutchins
In a nonpartisan survey research poll released Wednesday
by the S.C. Wildlife Federation (SCWF), 69 percent of S.C.
Bush voters, all hunters and anglers, said they wanted action
and leadership on global warming.
“It is not a political
issue and we have proven it with this poll,” said Angela
Viney, executive director of the SCWF. “It’s
a quality of life issue and a health issue. There is no political
drawback on this.”
The extensive research poll was
conducted in 20- to 40-minute telephone interviews with S.C.
hunters and anglers about the effects of global warming.
“Some
of South Carolina’s most conservative citizens are
witnessing the effects of global warming and are calling
for leadership and solutions to address it,” Viney
said. Executive Director of Responsive Management, Mark Duda,
said that an overwhelming majority of the respondents claimed
they felt global warming was a serious issue that is effecting
the state, and that 76 percent of those surveyed believe
that America is “addicted to oil.” Fifty-two
percent said they also believe the areas where they normally
hunt and fish have been affected by global warming.
Seventy
percent of those polled also said they support the development
of a statewide energy policy in South Carolina that encourages
the development and use of alternative fuels and renewable
energy resources such as wind power, solar power and ethanol.
Forty-three percent strongly agreed that global warming is
an urgent problem requiring immediate action and 66 percent
said the United States should be a world leader in addressing
the issue.
Fifty-six percent said they would be more likely
to vote for a presidential candidate who would work to combat
global warming.
Forty-eight percent said they considered
themselves conservative, 58 percent said they were evangelical
Christians and only five percent claimed to be liberal. Sixty-nine
percent said they voted for George W. Bush in the 2004 elections.
The poll indicates South Carolina’s most conservative
citizens “feel they have a moral responsibility to
confront global warming to protect our children’s future,” Viney
said. Dr. Tom McInnis, professor emeritus of botany
at Clemson University and chairman of the S.C. Council of Trout
Unlimited, said South Carolina’s native brook trout
could become extinct if the problem of global warming is
not immediately addressed.
The SCWF and National Wildlife Federation commissioned
Responsive Management of Harrisonburg, Va., to conduct the
nonpartisan survey of 305 hunters and anglers between the months
of March and April of this year. The respondents were chosen
from lists of individuals holding state hunting and fishing
licenses. The survey has a 95 percent confidence level with
a sampling error of plus or minus 5.6 percent. The complete
results of the poll can be seen at targetglobalwarming.org.
Key Poll Numbers
- 68 percent of South Carolina
sportsmen agree that global warming is an urgent problem
requiring immediate action.
- 65 percent believe global warming is a serious
threat to fish and wildlife.
- 71 percent are concerned that
wildlife and fish population in areas where they typically
hunt or fish will decrease significantly or disappear in
the next 10 years.
- 88 percent think the U.S. is addicted to oil
and 84 percent do not think Congress or the Administration
are doing enough to break this addiction.
- 90 percent of sportsmen
support the development of a statewide energy policy that
encourages the development and use of alternative fuels and
renewable sources of energy.
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