The Pew Research Center for the People & the Press is a strange organization to conduct a poll about the Keystone XL pipeline, since the press has nothing to do with the matter. Maybe the role of conducting the research is because the Pew Research Center was founded and is supported by Pew Charitable Trust, which in turn is funded by heirs to the fortune created by the founder of Sun Oil. That is too far-fetched a conspiracy theory about oil companies and pipelines. Pew executives clearly thought research on the matter would help inform the general public.
Pew released its findings, the top line of which is this:
Two-thirds of Americans (66%) favor building the pipeline, which would transport oil from Canada’s oil sands region through the Midwest to refineries in Texas. Just 23% oppose construction of the pipeline.
Republicans support the construction even more, with an 82% positive vote. Among Democrats, the figure drops to only 52%.
Pew mixed the results of the study by adding questions about matters other than the Keystone XL pipeline. For some reason, Pew inserted queries about opinions regarding the pipeline’s construction with a poll about whether “the average temperature on earth has been getting warmer over the past few decades.” Pew did not explain how the two questions are related, probably because they almost certainly are not. (On the same pages as the results of the study is an interactive toy to “Test your knowledge of prominent people and major events in the news, by taking our short 13-question quiz.”)
The message to the president is clear. The pipeline construction is fine, as long as its does not cause global warming.
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