Four Out of Five State Residents Do Not Favor Moving Ahead Now With
Daniels-Backed Coal Gasification Plants; Most Want Duke Energy - Not
Indiana Ratepayers - to Foot Bill for Billions of Dollars in Coal
Technology R&D.

    INDIANAPOLIS and WASHINGTON, Oct. 1 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- If
elected officials in Indianapolis and Washington, D.C. are going to
continue investing in energy through subsidies, tax breaks and other
incentives, the focus should shift from coal and nuclear power to promoting
wind and solar energy, enhanced energy efficiency, hybrids and other highly
fuel-efficient cars, according to a new survey of 600 Indiana adults
conducted for TheCLEAN.org and the Civil Society Institute (CSI) by the
leading U.S. survey firm Opinion Research Corporation (ORC). The CLEAN/CSI
survey was released today with the Citizen Action Coalition of Indiana.

    Key CLEAN/Civil Society Institute survey findings include the
following:



    --  Indiana residents do not favor proceeding immediately with two major
        coal gasification plants in the state.  About four out of five state
        residents (81 percent) - including 72 percent of Republicans, 89 percent
        of Democrats and 88 percent of Independents - favor focusing first on
        renewable-energy technology, stepped up energy-efficiency measures and
        promoting "green jobs" versus moving ahead now (15 percent)
        with two new coal gasification plants for electricity generation and
        synthesized gas production for sale to gas utilities, as has been
        proposed by the Administration of Indiana Governor Daniels.


    --  Indiana residents want Duke Energy -- not the state's ratepayers --
        to foot the bill for the utility's research & development
        (R&D) work on underground carbon-storage technology. More than four
        out five Indiana residents (84 percent) - including 79 percent of
        Republicans, 87 percent of Democrats and 94 percent of Independents --
        say that "Duke Energy and shareholders should foot the bill for its
        own research and development (R&D)," compared to only 11
        percent who think Indiana ratepayers should pay for Duke's R&D
        costs for technology that captures and stores carbon dioxide
        underground, as has been proposed by the electric utility and Indiana
        Governor Daniels.


    --  Most Indiana residents want to see government aid for wind and solar
        power put on the same or better footing than coal-fired and nuclear
        power plants. Over half of Indiana residents (53 percent) and about the
        same number nationwide (52 percent) want the government to "evenly
        divide" any subsidies, tax breaks or other incentives for new
        construction "between nuclear power and coal-fired power plants and
        energy sources such as wind and solar."  In Indiana, 33 percent and
        30 percent of Americans would go further, having the government
        "shift all or most of them from nuclear power and coal-fired power
        plants to energy sources such as wind and solar."  Only about 19
        percent of those in Indiana and one in 10 Americans would "keep the
        incentives for nuclear power and coal-fired power the way they are
        today."
    Civil Society Institute President and Founder Pam Solo said: "Indiana
residents deserve credit for understanding that more investment by the
state and federal governments in coal and nuclear power is essentially the
same thing as investing in subprime mortgages. If Indiana taxpayers are
going to directly or indirectly underwrite energy development and
energy-intensive industries -- such as the auto industry -- we need to
insist that state officials in Indianapolis and the next Congress and
President make good, solid investments that make sense for the long-term of
our country. The only energy investments that rise above the 'subprime'
level today are wind, solar and other clean renewable energy in concert
with enhanced energy efficiency."

    Grant Smith, executive director of Consumer Action Coalition of
Indiana, said: "It's great to know that the majority of Indiana are very
much in step with the rest of the nation when it comes to moving forward on
energy and climate issues. Now is the time for our state-level and national
political leaders to begin the transition to a new energy future based on
clean, renewable sources such as wind and solar."

    Smith, who also serves as national project coordinator for
TheCLEAN.org, added: "Investments in coal and nuclear power are the
Countrywide Financial subprime mortgages of the energy world. What the
public is saying in this survey is that we support government making
investments in the energy sources of tomorrow, but we have to stop flushing
money down the drain by propping up the failing energy sources of
yesterday, including oil, coal and nuclear. It makes no sense to be making
50-year investments in new coal-fired power plants. Energy efficiency and
renewable technologies already have overtaken, in many instances, or will
soon overtake, in other instances, coal-fired power in terms of direct cost
and are far superior in terms of financial risk, economic benefit, and the
ability address global warming. There is no viable model under which new
nuclear power plants can be constructed as anything other than
multi-billion dollar public works boondoggles. After the current financial
debacle on Wall Street, it is hard to imagine that Americans are going to
allow more dumb investments by Indianapolis and Washington on the wrong
energy sources."

    Opinion Research Corporation Senior Researcher Graham Hueber said:
"What we see in our survey work is that national and state-level attitudes
about energy and climate action vary relatively little. In fact, in some
respects, the residents of Indiana are even more inclined than other
Americans to look beyond coal and other carbon-based fuels to renewable
energy sources."

    OTHER KEY FINDINGS

    TheCLEAN.org/Civil Society Institute survey conducted by Opinion
Research Corporation also found the following about the views of Indiana
residents:



    --  A halt to construction of new coal-fired power plants is supported by
        most Indiana adults.  Nearly three out four respondents in Indiana (78
        percent) and 73 percent of Americans would support "a five-year
        moratorium on new coal-fired power plants in the United States if there
        was stepped-up investment in clean, safe renewable energy -- such as
        wind and solar -- and improved home energy-efficiency standards."


    --  Wind and solar are seen by Indiana residents as the future of energy for
        America.  In Indiana, 73 percent of respondents see oil or coal as a
        power source of yesterday.  This compares to more than two out of three
        Americans who now see coal (70 percent) and oil (67 percent) as the
        "power sources of yesterday."  By contrast, solar and wind are
        seen as "power sources of tomorrow" by 89 and 90 percent of
        those in Indiana and 92 percent and 88 percent of Americans,
        respectively.


    --  Indiana residents pick clean energy over coal and nuclear power. Two out
        of three Americans and 70 percent of those in Indiana would ask for
        wind, solar and other renewable energy technologies if they could
        "tell your power or utility company where to get the power to run
        your house."  By contrast, only 8 percent nationally would pick
        nuclear power (7 percent in Indiana) and just three percent would pick
        "coal-generated power" nationally versus 4 percent in Indiana.


    --  Most Indiana residents know that time is running out to deal with global
        warming. More than three out of five in Indiana (64 percent) and a
        similar proportion of Americans (63 percent) believe that "global
        warming is a problem and we have limited time to figure out the
        solutions to it."


    --  The vast majority of those in Indiana see a positive or neutral economic
        impact from dealing with global warming.  Fewer than one in five in
        Indiana and the nation as a whole (17 percent) believe that "action
        on global warming will hurt the U.S. economy," while over half (57
        percent in Indiana and 51 percent in the US) believe "action on
        global warming will create new jobs and investment."  Just over a
        quarter (26 percent in the state and 28 percent in the nation) say that
        such action "will neither help nor hurt the economy."


    --  Today's politicians are not seen as likely to act on climate
        issues.  Two out of three in Indiana and in the nation as a whole, have
        "only a small degree of confidence" (42 percent in Indiana and
        40 percent in the US) or "no confidence" (27 percent in US and
        38 percent in Indiana) that "our current elected officials in the
        United States will act decisively on global warming issues."


    --  Energy issues will figure prominently at the ballot box in November in
        Indiana.  More than nine out of 10 respondents in Indiana and the same
        proportion in the nation as a whole, (91 percent) say that "the
        views of candidates on energy-related issues -- such as gasoline prices,
        home heating oil prices, global warming and energy independence"
        will be important as they vote in 2008.  Of this amount nearly three in
        five (64 percent in Indiana and 58 percent in the US) say that energy
        issues will be "very important" to how they vote.
    Other key findings include the following:



    --  More than three out of four Americans (78 percent) and even more in
        Indiana (81 percent) 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."


    --  More than nine out of Indiana residents (91 percent) agree with the
        following statement:  "The reliance on fossil fuels is the product
        of the industrial revolution of the 19th and early 20th centuries."
        Do you think it is time for our nation to start thinking in terms of the
        concept of a 'new industrial revolution,' one that is
        characterized by the orderly phasing out of fossil fuels and the phasing
        in of clean, renewable energy sources -- many of which are available
        now, such as wind and solar for electricity, hybrid and clean diesel
        technologies for cars?


    --  More than four out of five Americans (85 percent) do not think "the
        federal government is doing enough about high energy prices and the U.S.
        dependence on Middle Eastern energy sources."  In Indiana the
        percentage is 87.


    --  Over half (52 percent) of Americans - and an even higher share of
        Indiana residents (60 percent) -- are more likely to "buy a hybrid,
        clean-diesel or other more fuel-efficient vehicle now" than they
        were six months ago.


    --  More than three out of four Indiana residents (76 percent) and just
        under seven out of 10 Americans (69 percent) think "the U.S.
        government should set a national goal of declaring July 4, 2015, as
        'Energy Independence Day' -- a real target date for ending our
        reliance on Middle Eastern and other foreign oil supplies.
    For complete survey findings, go to http://www.TheCLEAN.org.

    SURVEY METHODOLOGY

    The TheCLEAN.org/Civil Society Institute poll conducted by Opinion
Research Corporation's CARAVAN Services was a telephone survey conducted
among a sample of 600 adults (300 men and 300 women) aged 18 and older
living in private households in the state of Indiana. Interviewing was
completed September 18-21, 2008. The survey was weighted by age and gender
to ensure reliable and accurate representation of the total population. The
margin of error for surveys with samples of around 600 respondents, at the
95 percent confidence level, is plus or minus 4 percentage points. Smaller
sub-groups in any survey will have larger error margins.

    ABOUT CSI AND THECLEAN.ORG

    The nonprofit and nonpartisan Civil Society Institute

    (http://www.CivilSocietyInstitute.org) is a think tank that serves as a
catalyst for change by creating problem-solving interactions among people,
and between communities, government and business that can help to improve
society. Since 2003, CSI has conducted more than 20 major surveys and
reports on energy and auto issues, including vehicle fuel-efficiency
standards, consumer demand for hybrids/other highly-fuel efficient
vehicles, global warming and renewable energy. In addition to being a
co-convener of TheCLEAN.org, the Civil Society Institute also is the parent
organization of 40MPG.org (http://www.40MPG.org) and the Hybrid Owners of
America (http://www.HybridOwnersofAmerica.org).

    TheClean.org (http://www.TheCLEAN.org) is a collaborative movement of
state and local organizations and individuals who will encourage and
support policy makers at all levels of government to implement new energy
policies. The Civil Society Institute worked with grassroots organizations
across the United States to help organize the TheClean.org campaign.

    ABOUT CAC INDIANA

    The mission of the Citizens Action Coalition of Indiana
(http://www.citact.org) is to initiate, facilitate and coordinate citizen
action directed to improving the quality of life of all inhabitants of the
State of Indiana through principled advocacy of public policies to preserve
democracy, conserve natural resources, protect the environment, and provide
affordable access to essential human services.

    CONTACT: Leslie Anderson, (703) 276-3256 or
landerson@hastingsgroup.com.

    EDITOR'S NOTE: A streaming audio recording of this Indiana news event
will be available on the Web as of 5 p.m. ET/4 p.m. CT on October 1, 2008
at http://www.TheCLEAN.org and http://www.civilsocietyinstitute.org.