SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO AM) - According to a new poll, young conservatives overwhelmingly feel manmade climate change is a real problem.
The founder of Young Conservatives for Energy Reform, Michele Combs says these voters put as much importance on climate change as they did on abortion or gay marriage a few years ago.
Combs says young Republicans embrace this issue. She says they see it as a core value issue, that maybe in the 90's would have been the life issue or the marriage issues.
The poll found conservative, younger voters favored decentralized, market-based solutions, and the renewable energy industry comes across the best of any survey.
She says eight years ago if you would have told her that you would have brought hundreds of youn Republicans, young conservatives, to a clean-energy summit, she would have said you're crazy. and now, she says, they come from all over the country.
Combs says the group is putting its energy toward the future rather than this year's presidential race.
She sees the issue as the future of the party. She says the group is not focusing on the the presidential campaign, instead it's focusing on the grassroots.
The poll also found young conservatives view the E-P-A and environmental groups slightly more favorable than the coal or nuclear industries.