Houston, we have a problem. Jon Stewart thinks cap and trade is boring. And as if that weren't bad enough, a new survey out from the Pew Research Center for People & the Press tells usThere has been a sharp decline over the past year in the percentage of Americans who say there is solid evidence that global temperatures are rising. And fewer also see global warming as a very serious problem - 35% say that today, down from 44% in April 2008.
As the graph at the left shows, the decline is independent of political affiliation. There's been a decline in the number of people who think there's good evidence for climate change among Republicans, Independents, and Democrats. In 2006, over 90% of Democrats agreed that there's good evidence for global warming. Now only 75% agree.
That decline occurred in the face of ever-mounting evidence that climate change is real and that humans are contributing to it. To quote from the letter to senators released a couple of days ago: "[C]limate change is occurring, and rigorous scientific research demonstrates that the greenhouse gases emitted by human activities are the primary driver."
Clearly we have a problem here, and the problem isn't lack of data or lack of evidence. It's lack of communication. I wish I knew how to solve the problem, but I don't. Suggestions welcome.
Hat tip: Environmental Capital
There may be some hope. In a Associated Press article about the Pew Center report, Dina Cappiello writes the following:
There may be some hope. In a Associated Press article about the Pew Center report, Dina Cappiello writes the following:
Earlier polls, from different organizations, have not detected a growing skepticism about the science behind global warming.It's also nice to see that Capiello reaffirms the scientific consensus:
Since 1997, the percentage of Americans that believe the Earth is heating up has remained constant -- at around 80 percent -- in polling done by Jon Krosnick of Stanford University. Krosnick, who has been conducting surveys on attitudes about global warming since 1993, was surprised by the Pew results.
He described the decline in the Pew results as "implausible," saying there is nothing that could have caused it.
Though there are exceptions, the vast majority of scientists agree that global warming is occurring and that the primary cause is a buildup of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere from the burning of fossil fuels, such as oil and coal.Maybe all is not lost.
Kent -
One solution is to persistently beat that drum with scientific evidence and keep the message in front of the masses. Good luck.
dave