Are you hearing this Teddy? A while ago we reported the results of a pole that showed there was a strong majority of people in Massachusetts that were in favor of the proposed Cape Wind project. A new study by the same group shows that not only do a majority of the states residents support the project, but a majority of Cape residents also support the project. You listening Kennedy and Delahunt and Cape Cod Commission? Your own neighbors and constituents WANT this project. Could your continued support of the very rich “save our view” NIYMBY’s end up being political suicide?

You can read the entire survey here. (pdf)

More than three out of five Cape Cod/Island residents (61 percent) — including a bipartisan 54 percent of Republicans, 69 percent of Democrats and 50 percent of Independents — favor the Cape Wind project, according to a major new scientific survey of 501 Cape and Island residents conducted by Opinion Research Corporation (ORC) for the Newton, MA.-based Civil Society Institute, a nonprofit and nonpartisan think tank.

The Civil Society Institute survey tests six arguments made against Cape Wind by critics of the project and finds that not one of the arguments succeeds in persuading half or more of Cape/Island residents to oppose the project. In fact, fully half of the arguments — tourism/the regional economy, boating and commercial fishing — backfire and generate more support than opposition for Cape Wind.

Civil Society Institute President and Founder Pam Solo: “Facts and reason should dictate the future of Cape Wind. Thousands of pages from various agencies have examined the environmental impacts of Cape Wind and find no factual reason to stop the project. This survey offers further data. Citizens are following the debate and are rejecting a barrage of arguments against the project. Residents of the Cape and Islands want Cape Wind. They have followed the debate and remain supportive of offshore wind energy which could supply up to 75 percent of the energy needs of the Cape and Islands. Opponents are spending considerable capital — political and financial — to defeat Cape Wind and one would hope they will decide it is better spent solving problems than fighting against solutions.”

Opinion Research Corporation Senior Researcher Graham Hueber: “We tested six arguments used by Cape Wind opponents and none of them persuaded half or more of Cape and Islands residents to join their ranks. In some cases, including concerns about the potential impact on tourism and the regional economy, the opponents’ arguments actually boomerang against them and end up making most people more likely to support Cape Wind. This would appear to explain why only slightly over a third of Cape and Island residents oppose Cape Wind today.”

Barbara Hill, executive director, Clean Power Now, Hyannis, M., said: “An ever growing number of Cape Cod citizens understand that the Cape Wind project is an answer to record oil prices and the inescapable reality of global warming. Cape Wind is not the only answer, but the people of the Cape and islands are sick of the delays. They want Cape Wind built now.”

KEY SURVEY FINDINGS

More than three out of five Cape Cod/Island residents (61 percent) — including a bipartisan 54 percent of Republicans, 69 percent of Democrats and 50 percent of Independents — favor Cape Wind, including 42 percent who support it strongly. Only about a third (36 percent) of residents are against Cape Wind, with only a quarter opposing it strongly. These results are in keeping with the August 15, 2007 CSI survey on Cape Wind that found 58 percent support for Cape Wind on the Cape/Islands (based on a smaller sample size).

None of the attacks made against Cape Wind succeed in persuading half or more of Cape Cod/Islands residents to be more likely to oppose Cape

Wind:

— Only about one in five respondents (22 percent) say that Cape Wind should be delayed until so-called “deep water technology” is available to put the project farther off shore. By contrast, over half (51 percent) of respondents said “go ahead with Cape Wind now” using the proposed technology for the project. The issue of “deep water technology” has no impact on the thinking of 22 percent of respondents who say that they “oppose any version of Cape Wind.”

— Only about a third of respondents (35 percent) said that concerns about loss of tourism and other negative economic impacts made them less likely to support Cape Wind. Over half (55 percent) said the tourism/economic impact issue made them more likely to support Cape Wind.

— Just over one third of respondents (36 percent) said that the disputed potential for more bird deaths made them less likely to oppose Cape Wind. Nearly half (49 percent) said the bird issue made them more likely to support Cape Wind.

— A bit more than a third of respondents (37 percent) said that arguments about a potential harm to commercial fishing from Cape Wind made them less likely to support the project. Over half (56 percent) said they were more likely to support Cape Wind because of this issue.

— Fewer than two in five respondents (39 percent) said that arguments about potential navigation hazards to watercraft from Cape Wind made them less likely to support the project. Over half (55 percent) said the issue made them more likely to support Cape Wind.

— About two out of five respondents (42 percent) said the use of public land for Cape Wind made them less likely to support the project. Nearly half (48 percent) said the issue made them more likely to support the project.

— Just under half (49 percent) said they were less likely to support Cape Wind due to fears about abandonment of equipment. By contrast, 43 percent said the issue made them more likely to support Cape Wind.

Other key findings included the following:

— When it comes to generating electricity, wind power is the #1 choice (60 percent), followed by nuclear (21 percent), other (6 percent) and coal (5 percent). Cape Cod/Islands residents would support using the following energy steps and sources “before we resort to adding more nuclear power”: tougher energy conservation to reduce waste (89 percent); solar power (89 percent); and wind power (83 percent).

— 83 percent of respondents including 77 percent of Republicans, 88 percent of Democrats and 85 percent of Independents agree with the following statement: “The effects of global warming require that we take timely and decisive steps for renewable, safe and clean energy sources. We need transitional technologies on our path to energy independence. There are tough choices to be made and tradeoffs. We cannot afford to postpone decisions since there are no perfect options.”

— Nearly all respondents (96 percent) are aware of the Cape Wind project.

You can read the entire survey here. (pdf)

Survey results are based on a telephone survey of 501 adults age 18 and over, living in private households, in certain counties in the state of Massachusetts. Interviewing was completed during the period of October 10-15, 2007. Residents were screened to ensure that they lived in Dukes, Nantucket or Barnstable counties. Those living in Barnstable County were further screened to ensure that they lived on the Cape Cod side of the Cape Cod canal. In addition, all respondents were screened to ensure that they live in their home at least 6 months or half of the year. The data were weighted two variables: age and gender, to ensure reliable and accurate representation of the adult population. The margin of error at a 95 percent confidence level is plus or minus 4 percentage points for the sample of 501 adults. Smaller sub-groups will have larger error margins.

Of the 501 total respondents, 58 percent lived in Barnstable County, 19 percent in Dukes County and 23 percent in Nantucket. All of the respondents reported spending six months or more of the year in their home on the Cape and Islands.