Back in the spring of 2010, many of us were appalled when polling showed that only a slight majority(52%) of Americans accepted Climate Change as reality. It was a huge drop from the 3/4's of Americans that believed in Climate Change in the Fall of 2008. It seemed like the Big Oil and Big Fossil funded Climate Change denial campaign was driving the acceptance of Climate Change as reality ever downward in the views of the American public. That trend has now been reversed, with more Americans accepting Climate Change now than at any point since the Fall of 2009.
After a period of declining levels of belief in global warming there appears to be a modest rebound in the percentage of Americans that believe temperatures on the planet are increasing. This is among the key findings
of the latest fielding of the National Survey of American Public Opinion on Climate Change (NSAPOCC) which is jointly produced by the Gerald Ford School of Public Policy at the University of Michigan and the Muhlenberg College Institute of Public Opinion. The survey, which was fielded in December of 2011, found 62% of Americans agreeing that there is solid evidence that average temperatures on earth have been getting warmer over the past four decades, with 26% of U.S. residents maintaining an opposing view on the matter. The 62% “belief” mark is the highest level recorded since the fall of 2009 when 65% of Americans reported that there was solid evidence of climate change.
http://www.brookings.edu/...
One interesting aspect about these surveys is that disbelief of Climate Change peaked when the Tea Party "movement" peaked and declined as the Tea Party declined.
Some key aspects of the survey:
Many accept Climate Change because of personal observations.
Global Warming Deniers think that scientists are part of a big conspiracy.
The percentage of Climate Change Denialists corresponds closely with the percentage of the population that still loves George W. Bush(26%).
Democrats are the most well-informed on this issue, with 78% accepting reality and only 15% choosing not to.
Nearly double the amount of independents accept Climate Change as reality as those who don't(55% to 30%).
3 times as many women believe in Climate Change as there are deniers amongst women(66% to 22%).
And, last but not least, more Republicans believe in Climate Change than those who don't(47% to 42%).
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That last part is one of the most interesting aspects of the survey, as it shows just how extremist and out of touch with even the general Republican population all the lockstep Republican Climate Change Deniers in Congress are.
They're probably not too happy about this trend and - if this trend continues - it could very well spell trouble for them in the 2012 election.
