Stanford Researchers To Examine The Effect Of "green Policy" For The Recent National Elections

The political candidates in elections in the income statement affect its position on climate change policy, the new studies at Stanford University during the last presidential election and the Congress.

"These studies are coordinated by looking at whether the opinions of the candidates' climate change translated into real votes," said Jon Krosnick, professor of communication studies and political science at Stanford University, which led to two new studies - one of the presidential elections of 2008 and the 2010 elections the Congress. "All this suggests that the sound can be achieved by taking positions on climate change and green the vote is lost by taking a" non-green strains. "

The results are consistent with previous research on Krosnick voter preferences in a hypothetical election. Together, these studies made a strong case that many candidates of a party, said that climate change is real and support policies to tackle the problem is a good way to woo voters, said Krosnick, Principal Investigator courtesy, at Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment.

"Lately we have seen many politicians want to say something about climate change or to take aggressive positions skeptic," said Krosnick. "If the public perceived as an increasingly skeptical of climate change, these strategies must be understood, but studies have shown something different."

Voters preferred the "green" president

Presidential election in the survey, asked his constituents Krosnick and colleagues for their opinions on climate policy before and after the 2008 election. The research team investigated online to reach a national sample of voters.

Before the election, the researchers asked voters whether they supported or opposed the government's policy to reduce future emissions of greenhouse gases. The survey also asked what he thought of Barack Obama voters and John McCain positions on climate change. After the election, voters and who reported whether they had voted.

Not surprisingly, more people said their own views on climate change was closer to Obama's position that McCain voted for Obama. This trend was especially true among voters who are very concerned about climate change and persist regardless of the ideology of the affiliation of the voters of the party, the preferred size of government and review the performance of President George W. functions Bush.

Congress and the climate

Krosnick new study on the 2010 election, Congress has considered that the websites of the candidates had said about climate change during his campaigns, and if the candidates have won or lost the election.

The researchers found that over 80 percent of sites Republican candidates do not address climate change at all. Among the other 20 percent, half recognized climate change as a political problem and backed to reduce future emissions of greenhouse gas emissions and half were skeptical, expressing "non-green" views. In contrast, took more than half of the Democratic candidates 'green' attitude, and the remainder expressed no opinion.

"The Democrats, who took the" green "attitudes on climate change has gained a lot more often than it is the Democrats who remained silent," said Krosnick. "The Republicans who took" non-green positions earned less often than the Republicans who have remained silent. "

The analysis of the researchers took into account the tenure of some candidates and voting trends of parties, Krosnick said. He noted some limitations, including the fact that the study only looked at the text on the websites of the candidates, not video or audio, and that the analysis does not include statements made in other forums, such as political speeches and debates .

The combined results of many studies are a "compelling package," said Krosnick. "Our surveys show no decline in public confidence in the existence and the threat of climate change, and that politicians can benefit from a "green" attitude. "