September 22, 2010 05:56 PM UTC

Public Loves Ditching Coal

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• by: Colorado Pols

The Colorado Independent’s David O. Williams reports today:

A survey conducted by a bipartisan research team – Republican polling service Public Opinion Strategies and Democratic pollsters Fairbank, Maslin, Maullin, Metz & Associates – found that 79 percent of Colorado voters prefer renewable energy and natural gas over coal.

And 76 percent of those responding support Xcel’s plan, mandated by last session’s House Bill 1365. That bill, passed in late March, brought together an odd mixture of environmentalists, Republicans, Democrats and natural-gas backers. It was touted mainly as a method of reducing emissions on the Front Range ahead of pending federal regulation, and Colorado’s coal industry bitterly opposed the bill.

Tuesday’s poll also revealed support across the political and geographic spectrum, including among Democrats (89 percent), independents (73 percent), Republicans (64 percent), Denver metropolitan area residents (78 percent) and Western Slope residents (70 percent).

“It comes as no surprise that a strong majority of Coloradans support moving in this bold direction,” Pete Maysmith, executive director Colorado Conservation Voters, said in a release. “This effort has always been a testament to bi-partisan solution-seeking in an era of ‘me first’ politics because Coloradans across the board understand that clean air is critical for a healthy Colorado.”

So this plan, which we discussed last spring as a “Grand Bargain” that brought together diverse interests to make a bold change in energy production in Colorado, is broadly loved–there are Republicans who would like to use the passage of HB10-1365 as yet another stick to beat ‘job-killing Democrats’ with–witness the related story in today’s Craig Daily Press, the heart of coal mining country, and the seamless rage from miner families to their GOP representatives in the General Assembly. More Democrat treachery! It fits the theme.

The problem is, it’s a lot harder to write that polemical story if the fact that none other than GOP Minority Leader Josh Penry was a key backer of HB-1365 is included (so of course it wasn’t). A much bigger hurdle, though, are the 64% of Republicans who think a less polluted Front Range sounds pretty cool–they’ll be a little tough to agitate with this. There also remains a very robust export market for Colorado coal, and it’s been the view of proponents all along that the fears of 25% job cuts in Colorado mines are wildly–and purposefully–exaggerated.

But even if they’re not? Why did the stage coach industry lose its customers again?