new Yale-GMU poll says we're back to pre-2008 levels on climate belief
Megan Jenny
From: Jeff Nesbit [mailto:jne...@climatenexus.org]
Sent: Thursday, October 18, 2012 10:52 AM
To: Jeff Nesbit
Subject: new Yale-GMU poll says we're back to pre-2008 levels on climate belief
In case you've not yet heard about the new Yale-GMU poll that's being released this morning. It has some extraordinary new findings, including the fact that belief in the reality of climate change has moved back to pre-2008 levels and that people who believe climate change is not happening has shrunk from 20% to to 12% in the past 18 months. The release (with a direct link to the poll) is below.
Jeff Nesbit
Executive Director | Climate Nexus
171 Madison Avenue, Suite 901 | New York NY 10016
Twitter: @jeffnesbit
Please show climate scientists your support.
Like I Heart Climate Scientists on Facebook.
For Immediate Release – Contact: Allan Margolin, 646-559-5565
SEVEN IN TEN AMERICANS BELIEVE GLOBAL WARMING IS HAPPENING
Only 12% of Americans Think Global Warming Is Not Happening
October 18, 2012 - (New Haven, CT) A new national survey finds that Americans’ belief in the reality of global warming has increased by 13 percentage points over the past two and a half years, from 57 percent in January 2010 to 70 percent in September 2012. At the same time, the number of Americans who say global warming is not happening has declined nearly by half, from 20 percent in January 2010 to only 12 percent today.
“Americans’ beliefs about climate change declined from 2008 to 2010, but have bounced almost all the way back,” said Dr. Anthony Leiserowitz of Yale University. “After the record heat waves, widespread drought, floods, wildfires, and violent storms of the past two years, Americans increasingly believe that global warming is happening.”
Other major findings include:
· Americans’ belief in the reality of global warming has increased by 13 percentage points over the past two and a half years, from 57 percent in January 2010 to 70 percent in September 2012. At the same time, the number of Americans who say global warming is not happening has declined nearly by half, from 20 percent in January 2010 to only 12 percent today.
· For the first time since 2008, more than half of Americans (54%) believe globalwarming is caused mostly by human activities, an increase of eight points since March 2012. Americans who say it is caused mostly by natural changes in theenvironment have declined to 30 percent (from 37% in March).
· A growing number of Americans believe global warming is already harming people both at home and abroad. Four in ten say people around the world are being harmed right now by climate change (40%, up 8 percentage points since March 2012), while 36 percent say global warming is currently harming people in the United States (up six points since March).
· In addition, theyincreasingly perceive global warming as a threat to themselves (42%, up 13 points since March 2012), their families (46%, up 13 points), and/or people in their communities (48%, up 14 points). Americans also perceive global warming as a growing threat to people in the United States (57%, up 11 points since March 2012), in other modern industrialized countries (57%, up eight points since March), and in developing countries (64%, up 12 points since March).
· Today over half of Americans (58%) say they are “somewhat” or “very worried” about global warming - now at its highest level since November 2008.
· For the first time since 2008, Americans are more likely to believe most scientists agree that global warming is happening than believe there is widespread disagreement on the subject (44% versus 36%, respectively). This is an increase of nine percentage points since March 2012.
· Three out of four Americans (76%) say they trust climate scientists as a source of information about global warming, making them the most trusted source askedabout in the survey. Scientists (who do not specialize in climate) are alsotrusted by a majority of Americans (67%), as are TV weather reporters (60%).
"Our prior research has found that once people realize climate scientists are in broad agreement about climate change, they become more convinced that climate change is happening, human caused, and a serious problem,” said Edward Maibach of George Mason University. “It's encouraging, then, to see that more Americans understand that most scientists agree on the issue, though it’s still less than 50 percent of the public."
This report is based on findings from a nationally representative survey – Climate Change in the American Mind: Americans’ Global Warming Beliefs and Attitudes in September 2012 – conducted by the Yale Project on Climate Change Communication and the George Mason University Center for Climate Change Communication. Interview dates: August 31, 2012 – September 12, 2012. Interviews: 1,061 Adults (18+). Total average margin of error: +/- 3 percentage points at the 95% confidence level. The study was funded by the Surdna Foundation, the 11th Hour Project, the Grantham Foundation, and the V.K. Rasmussen Foundation.
In addition to Dr. Leiserowitz, principal investigators included Geoff Feinberg and Peter Howe of Yale University and Drs. Edward Maibach and Connie Roser-Renouf of George Mason University.
For questions about the survey or to speak with the principal investigators:
Allan Margolin, 212-646-559-5565, amar...@climatenexus.org
Anthony Leiserowitz, 203-432-4865, anthony.l...@yale.edu
Geoff Feinberg, 203-432-7438, geoffrey...@yale.edu
Edward Maibach, 703-993-1587, emai...@gmu.edu