Poll shows Kansas think state made right decision about coal
The Land Institute poll says that the majority of Kansans support the state's decision to reject two coal-fired energy plants. Enlarge video
Topeka — Kansans support the state's recent rejection of coal-fired power plants by a 2-1 margin, according to new poll results.
"This is a crucial moment in our history," Nancy Jackson, spokeswoman for the Climate and Energy Project of The Land Institute, which commissioned the poll, said Thursday. The poll also found that three out of four Kansans want the state to increase its commitment to wind-powered energy.
Supporters of the plants proposed by Sunflower Electric Power Corp. dismissed the poll.
Sunflower spokesman Steve Miller noted that the Salina-based Land Institute opposed the two 700-megawatt plants.
"It is not surprising," Miller said, that the institute focusing on renewable energy and agriculture "would commission a poll for publicity purposes."
Bob Kreutzer, who leads a group of Kansas businesses supporting construction of the plants in western Kansas, said the poll failed to ask more meaningful questions.
"Had they asked, 'Are you willing to pay twice what you're paying now for electricity?' it might have been a little different," Kreutzer said.
On Oct. 18, Kansas Department of Health and Environment Secretary Roderick Bremby rejected the plants near Holcomb, citing concerns about carbon dioxide emissions and global warming. Most scientists believe increased CO2 emissions are causing climate change.
The poll, done in November by Cooper & Secrest Associates of Alexandria, Va., showed that 62 percent of Kansans support Bremby's decision and 31 percent oppose it. The survey had a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percent.
"That is a pretty healthy endorsement of this decision," said pollster Allen Secrest during a teleconference with Jackson and reporters across the state. And, he said, support of Bremby's decision was high among Democrats and Republicans.
More than 1,000 people were surveyed, including an over-sample in the 1st Congressional District, which would have been the site of the plants.
Even in the 1st Congressional District, KDHE's decision was supported 51 percent to 40 percent with 9 percent unsure.
The largest margin of support was in the 3rd Congressional District, which includes east Lawrence, at 70 percent. The second District, which includes west Lawrence, and fourth District, which includes Wichita, both were at 62 percent support.
Sunflower and its co-developers have appealed the KDHE decision to the Kansas Supreme Court, and state legislative leaders have vowed to try to overturn Bremby's ruling in the legislative session that starts Jan. 14.
Kreutzer of Garden City said he was one of the western Kansans actually polled over the telephone by Cooper and Secrest.
He said the poll seemed slanted against the plants because the questions failed to provide information about what he said were inconsistencies in state energy policy.
But Secrest and Jackson said the questions were balanced.
"We went some distance out of our way to articulate both sides," Secrest said.
Jackson said much of the polling was done to help guide strategies of the institute so it would have been foolish to skew the questions.
Jackson and Secrest did not reveal all of the poll results, but Jackson said the survey indicated that concern about the environment is among the top issues in the state.
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mooner (anonymous) says…
Here is what they asked in the poll .. :
http://www2.ljworld.com/documents/200...
coldandhot (anonymous) says…
Rothschild outscooped again.
Not so fast...Cooper & Secrest Associates is the official pollster of the Kansas Democratic Party and Kathleen Sebelius. However, as we all are well aware by now, the Kansas media run with this as a "fair and balanced" poll.
The "important" papers know the connections now, a poll from Cooper & Secrest (a company that has received hundreds of thousands from Kansas Democrats) is not an accurate poll. it stinks.
coldandhot (anonymous) says…
Today's Lawrence Journal-World quoted a poll in which Kansans supposedly reject coal-fired power plants:
Kansans support the state's recent rejection of two coal-fired power plants by a two-to-one margin, according to a poll released today.
In addition, three out of four Kansans want the state to increase its commitment to wind-powered energy, according to the poll conducted on behalf of The Land Institute, a Salina-based organization that focuses on renewable forms of energy and agriculture.
On Oct. 18, Kansas Department of Health and Environment Secretary Roderick Bremby rejected the plants in western Kansas proposed by Sunflower Electric Power Corp., citing concerns about carbon dioxide emissions and global warming.
The poll, done in November by Cooper and Secrest Associates of Alexandria, Va., showed that 62 percent of Kansans support Bremby's decision and 31 percent oppose it.
But why didn't the Lawrence Journal-World give any of the the connections between Cooper and Secrest Associates and the Kansas Democratic Party and the hundreds of thousands the KDP has paid Cooper and Secrest over more than a decade? Even a KU press release from late last year identified the head of this company as a Democratic pollster:
KU press release: Media advisory: Dole Institute to host conference on midterm election results, Dec 6, 2006
- Alan Secrest, president and CEO, Cooper & Secrest Associates Inc.; Democratic pollster
Who is Alan Secrest and what are his political leanings?
Alan Secrest: all in the numbers -- Democratic pollster -- Movers & Shakers, Campaigns & Elections, Oct-Nov, 1993.
* Democratic pollster Alan Secrest first "caught the political bug" in the 1972 George McGovern presidential campaign
* Secrest is one of the most successful Democratic pollsters because of his devotion to in-depth questionnaires and analysis.
Here's an overview of Secrest's company:
Cooper and Secrest Associates Inc.
Private Company, Headquarters Location
228 S Washington St., Ste. 330, Alexandria, VA, United States
(703)683-7990, (703)739-0079 fax,
Primary SIC: Services, Not Elsewhere Classified, Primary NAICS: Other Scientific and Technical Consulting Services
Description: Services: Political consulting firm which specializes in public opinion polls for Democratic candidates. Firm also does polling work for non-candidates, such as associations and lobbying organizations.
just_another_bozo_on_this_bus (anonymous) says…
So, are you saying that the poll results are wrong, hotandcold? If so, what are the "real" feelings of Kansans, and what Republican-biased poll tells you so?
a_flock_of_jayhawks (anonymous) says…
coldandhot,
Since you seem to know so much about polling (which I suspect you don't), why don't you formulate your own poll and publish the results? Be sure to provide the methodology, results, and analysis of the poll so that others can verify your work and conclusions.
If you are not willing (or able) to do this or at least speak to these items in the poll, your opinion is just that -- an opinion, and a pretty empty one. If you really want to learn more, study sociology.
Centerville (anonymous) says…
Hot and Cold,
Thank you for doing the work that our LJW refuses to do. Coverage of anything involving Sebilious is a joke. We owe you for connecting the dots that usually remain unconnected.
a_flock_of_jayhawks (anonymous) says…
ha ha, R_T. very funny. Damn the planet 'cause we're all too comfortable with the way things are. Oh, and leave it for future generations to handle and make the necessary sacrifices. Very convenient, seeing as they probably will never get the chance to look us in the eye and ask "why?"
Some people just need to be dragged kicking and screaming into doing what they should.
coldandhot (anonymous) says…
Not saying the poll is wrong...just letting folks know who's behind the poll and what that organization is about. Basically, doing Rothschild's job. Letting people know the whole story.
just_another_bozo_on_this_bus (anonymous) says…
"just letting folks know who's behind the poll and what that organization is about."
No, you merely spammed us with vague, ad hominem innuendo.
LeviCircle (anonymous) says…
This story is a nice P.R. piece...but nothing more. If the Kansans For Life folks released a poll saying that 64% of the public wanted abortion completely outlawed, I wouldn't believe that any more than I'd believe a Planned Parenthood poll saying that 64% of the public wanted no restrictions on abortion at all.
While Mr. Jackson is undoubtedly a nice man, he and his associated organizations have, from the beginning, been very publicly opposed to the Holcomb plant. The polling firm they hired has done hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of polling for Kansas Democrats for years.
Yes, I've read the actual poll questions. Yes, they got the result they wanted. No, I don't have ANY confidence this poll is accurate...and no, I wouldn't believe a poll paid for by Sunflower Energy, either.
Shame on the J-W for giving this political puff piece the title of "news". The sales department should have been given this - it's political advertising.
dirkleisure (anonymous) says…
Levi, how would you have asked the questions?
Your argument would be understandable if the poll had generated a slim majority or perhaps even a plurality.
It did not. It generated a large majority. How would you have asked the question, and what response do you think you would have received?
You cannot criticize the questions without offering specifics.
situveux1 (anonymous) says…
Actually, it's perfectly acceptable to criticize the questions without saying what should have been asked. By saying someone should put forth their own questions, you're simply trying to divert the discussion away from a very real concern...that the pollsters were not only biased, but had a significant interest in getting results that would push an agenda. My thanks to cold and hot for publishing what he has.In addition, you can go to page 33 of http://ethics.ks.gov/CFAScanned/StWid... and see an expenditure of $9,475 by Kathleen Sebelius' campaign to Cooper and Secrest for "Research". The expenditure is dated 11/30/07, just under 1 month before the release of the poll.http://www.climateandenergy.org/_FileLibrary/FileImage/CSecrestKSClimateMemo.pdfHere you can read the poll questions for yourself.The questions really don't matter to me anymore. I think they could have been phrased differently, but in the end I can't trust a polling company that may have been paid by Sebelius herself. I'm sure Neufeld's poll would have shown support just as much as this poll showed opposition.
just_another_bozo_on_this_bus (anonymous) says…
"Why do loons sit around and spend all their energy stopping logical human progress an then never doing anything that they insist must happen?*Spoken slowly and with excessive disgust.*Just//////build/////the/////god/////damned/////wind/////farms!!!!!!!!!"So, I guess this means that if you prefer coal plants that you are busy building one in your backyard.
situveux1 (anonymous) says…
"Seems an awful lot of people simply hate the governor because she's a Democrat, nothing she can ever do is right."Dude, there's just as many who think she can do no wrong and W can do no right. What's the difference?