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Most Voters Disagree With Harry Reid’s Fossil Fuel Comments
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Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's pronouncement that using coal and oil is making us sick may be the number one video on YouTube, but most voters disagree, according to a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey.

"Coal makes us sick. Oil makes us sick," the Democratic leader declared on the Fox Business Network earlier this week. "It's global warming. It's ruining our country. It's ruining our world." Republicans, hoping to capitalize on Reid's comments at a time when Americans are paying record prices at the gas pump, have widely circulated a video of his TV appearance, and yesterday it pulled in nearly 300,000 viewers.

But 52% of voters surveyed Tuesday night reject Reid's claim about coal. That’s more than double the 22% who agree with Reid.

Similarly, 50% of Americans disagree with the claim that relying on oil for energy makes us sick. Thirty-one percent (31%) agree with Reid on that point. Reid’s declaration that America needs to stop using fossil fuels is rejected by 51% of voters and supported by 31%.

A modest plurality (46%) agree with Reid's statement that global warming is ruining the world. Forty-one percent (41%) disagree.

Voters are evenly divided as to whether global warming is caused by long-term planetary trends or human activity. In a Rasmussen Reports national survey in early April, 47% blamed human activity for global warming while 34% saw long-term planetary trends as the culprit.

Democrats are divided on Reid's assessment of coal—32% agree with him and 37% disagree. On coal, Republicans disagree with Reid by a 69% to 14% margin.

When asked about oil, Democrats are again fairly evenly divided while Republicans overwhelmingly reject Reid’s assertion.

Women are more ambivalent than men about whether the U.S. should give up using fossil fuels. Men reject this idea 61% to 28%, but 33% of women think it's a good idea. Still, a plurality of women (42%) disagree.

Thirty-nine percent (39%) of Democrats favor quitting fossil fuels, but 38% disagree. By contrast, Republicans reject that idea 67% to 18%. For unaffiliated voters, 50% are pro-fossil fuels, with 33% against.

Nearly half of women voters (49%) think global warming is ruining our country and the world, a position rejected by the same percentage of men. Women are split evenly on whether human activity is more responsible for global warming than long-term planetary trends. Forty-eight percent (48%) of men blame the latter, while 39% point the finger at humans.

Here the political divide is starker--57% of Democrats blaming human activity as opposed to 20% of Republicans. Sixty-eight percent (68%) of GOP voters attribute global warming to planetary trends, but only 27% of Democrats agree. Unaffiliated voters are evenly divided.

Recent surveys have shown that 47% of voters say reducing the price of gas and oil is more important than protecting the environment. Thirty-nine percent (39%) disagree.

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Rasmussen Reports is an electronic publishing firm specializing in the collection, publication, and distribution of public opinion polling information.

The Rasmussen Reports Election Edge™ Premium Service offers the most comprehensive public opinion coverage available anywhere.

Scott Rasmussen, president of Rasmussen Reports, has been an independent pollster for more than a decade.

Survey of 1,000 Likely Voters
July 1, 2008

Does relying on coal for energy make us sick?

Yes

22%

No

52%

Not Sure

26%

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