Surprising Beliefs from Conservative Business Owners

Poll Reveals Opposition to Oil Company Subsidies and Support for Renewable Energy Policy

News provided by

American Sustainable Business Council

Jun 27, 2013, 11:15 ET

WASHINGTON, June 27, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- A recent poll of small business owners across the United States produced a surprising result: a majority oppose public subsidies for oil, coal, and gas companies; support renewable energy; are concerned about carbon dioxide impacts; and support disclosure of chemicals used in "fracking" for natural gas. The results are in a new report called Small Business Owners' Views on Energy & Environmental Policy Reform by the American Sustainable Business Council.

Small Businesses and Health Advocates React to Poll Results

"Renewable energy can support our rural communities and businesses, while promising good, clean work we can be proud of in our community. It's common sense that a move to renewable energy will ensure food security and good rural economies. Food security is at the heart of national security, The US can have a competitive edge in the world and be a leading voice for small business development," explains Michelle Ajamian, Shagbark Seed & Mill, Ohio.

"The climate impacts from fossil fuel production, coupled with the huge waste of water for projects like unconventional oil extraction, make this kind of energy too costly to our health, our environment, and our economy," said Martha Dina Arguello, Physicians for Social Responsibility – Los Angeles (PSR-LA).

"We need to put a wartime effort into the peacetime project of converting our energy production to renewables immediately. We should have begun this changeover 30 years ago. We are now suffering serious consequences due to the delay. To avoid catastrophic consequences, we must hesitate no longer with moving forward on this," comments Drake Chamberlin, Athens Electric LLC.

"Here in Arkansas, we know big energy well. We have had hundreds of earthquakes triggered by the disposal of waste from the Natural Gas Industry and we have had one of the country's largest oil pipeline ruptures," says April Lane, with Faulkner County Citizens Advisory Group and Environmental Alliance at the University of Central Arkansas.

"Snowville Creamery requires clean water for cows to drink, unpolluted soil for pasture, and fresh air for cows and the community to breathe. Injection wells accepting toxic waste of undisclosed chemicals are a terrible threat to our local business. Our customers have told us repeatedly that nearby injection wells will be enough to stop them using our products. Every industry should be responsible to dispose of the waste it produces. Local businesses benefit their communities without threatening the natural resources essential for the community's long term health, sustainability, and self sufficiency," comments Warren Taylor, Snowville Creamery, Pomeroy, Ohio.

Denny Larson, Global Community Monitor, California, says, "The findings poll findings are exactly what we hear from small business owners in communities affected by air pollution and noise from fracking - it's not good for our business! The gas companies have tried to create the opposite impression with their massive advertising campaigns, but this scientific poll proves it's not good for small businesses."

"We hear concerns about decline in coal jobs over the last decades, and uncertainty about whether other big industry jobs will come in," said Elizabeth Crowe, Kentucky Environmental Foundation." These small businesses can play an important role in supporting diversification of our energy sources, and help find ways for communities to thrive economically and with good health."

"Whether Republican, Democratic or Independent, small business owners understand that the smartest path to a sustainable future for business is to grow a clean energy economy," explains Richard Eidlin, ASBC.

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SOURCE American Sustainable Business Council