Survey of U.S. Consumers’ Favorite ‘Green’ Brands Suggests Public Support For Cap-and-Trade in Trouble
Submitted by EnergyTechStocks.com
A new survey by advertising giant WPP finds that U.S. consumers’ favorite “green” brands are Whole Foods, Burt’s Bees, Trader Joe’s, Tom’s of Maine and Toyota, in that order. But it’s what the survey did not find that should be of concern to investors and to the two gentlemen running for President of the United States.
The survey found that in the wake of record energy and food prices, being green counts for less in the public’s mind than it did the last couple of years. Characterizing the survey’s results as “somewhat alarming,” one WPP executive said when survey results were released, “With agricultural commodities running low and the rising cost of gas in the United States, Americans indicate they have more immediate concerns than the environment.”
Over the strong objections of the energy industry, both Barack Obama and John McCain publicly support a federal initiative to create a cap-and-trade system to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. Energy lobbyists argue such a system would be too expensive, and based on this survey, a majority of Americans may wind up agreeing when cap-and-trade legislation is introduced in Congress early next year.
Even though such a bill, introduced by Democrats, was shot down by Republicans in the Senate earlier this month, many on Wall Street and on “K” Street have told EnergyTechStocks.com that they expect cap-and-trade legislation to pass next year. If it doesn’t, then investors should be prepared for a fallout that knocks down the stocks of companies whose business is generating and/or certifying carbon reduction projects which, under cap-and-trade, would be worth a lot of money, because they could be sold as “credits’ to other companies in need of lowering their carbon emissions below government-specified limits.
Indeed, the whole environmental movement, not just on Wall Street, but on Main Street as well, could be seriously set back.
