US electorate 'made energy-based votes'

According to the results of a new poll, half of the US electorate voted for their new president with energy issues firmly on their minds.

Conducted by Lake Research Partners on behalf of the Sierra Club, the nationwide survey found that half of respondents claimed energy was "personally important in deciding who to vote for president" during last week's election.

A further 49 per cent said they believed Obama has a better plan that McCain when it comes to green energy and the creation of new jobs as a result.

When asked whether there was a significant difference between the energy policies of the two candidates, 82 per cent said they noticed some dissimilarity, while 43 per cent said there was a "significant" distinction.

Before he was voted in as the US's next president, Barack Obama proposed a bill calling for a ban on the export of Mercury, which was signed into law by George Bush in October.