There is research and than there’s RESEARCH that really points to the way things are going. It hasn’t been that long now since the BP rig explosion brought a new urgency to the cause of saving life on planet earth. Pretty strong words. But ultimately that’s what the green movement is all about. We all can do something about it. The use of dirty energy this time had a group of Chilean miners trapped under the ground digging for coal. They were lucky. Chile and the world breathed a sigh of relief; they all made it out alive. And then there was the other oil rig that sink in the Gulf not long after the BP tragedy (didn’t see too much about it) that left oil rig workers bogging in the sea waiting to be rescued…and they too made it. Maybe solar power and renewable forms of energy will come the to rescue of human civilization. For that energy we look up; and not down drilling into the ground or deep into ocean floors to find and burn oxygen killing coal and oil. Here’s the news…Mike Casey, President of cleantech research firm Tigercomm said,

“Dirty energy executives and their lobbyists talk about how ‘cheap’ fossil fuels are, but they don’t want to talk about how much they’ve lived off government handouts for the last 150 years. We should do what most Americans want and push these industries off the welfare rolls. Then we can have an honest conversation about how ‘cheap’ coal and oil really are.” What Casey is talking about is a new nationwide poll finds only 8 percent of Americans want to continue the roughly $10 billion per a year given to fossil fuel interests by the federal government. The survey finds that 73 percent of Americans want half or all of these subsidies repurposed for policies that support solar and other renewables. Not surprising, “Solar and other forms of renewable energy are being increasingly attacked as ‘not ready’ because of policies that promote their scaling,” Casey said. “Solar companies have a lot to gain by a stepped up, collective defense of their brand.”

The poll found that 80 percent of Americans are unaware of how much of their tax money goes to highly profitable fossil fuel corporations, such as ExxonMobil and Massey Energy. Support for solar is wide and deep among Americans of virtually every demographic and political viewpoint. The vast majority of consumers have strong positive associations with solar energy.

THE MATRIX

80 percent of American adults rate “solar power” favorably (compared to 76 percent for wind power, 62 percent for natural gas, 39 percent for nuclear power, 32 percent for oil, and 29 percent for coal). – More than 70 percent rate solar energy as “an energy source I trust” and “safe for future generations.”  – 74 percent believe that solar energy is a “long-term solution for the country’s energy needs.” The Tigercomm LLC survey was conducted by Gotham Research Group between September 23 – 26, 2010. The findings and conclusions are primarily based on an analysis of a nationally representative survey of 1,013 adults, 18 years and older.

Yes the movie the Matrix is science fiction as is Avatar, but both get it right. Does art imitate life or life imitate art?