A rising number of American feel there isn’t enough evidence to support the idea of global warming (43% up from 29% in 2007). Plus, fewer people feel that humans are contributing to climate change (36% down from 47% in 2006). These results come despite growing scientific evidence that commercial farming, industries, transport systems and energy generation activities have occasioned greater carbon emissions which get trapped in the Earth’s atmosphere and raise temperatures.
Some results are encouraging, nonetheless. Around half the respondents favoured a policy that imposed credit limits and a carbon tax for companies, even if it meant a rise in energy prices. Similarly, a majority felt that USA should join hands with other countries to set standards for curbing carbon emission.
The significance of these results stem from their timeliness as the US Senate prepares to debate over ways to curb greenhouse gas emissions and the United Nation’s Climate Change Conference is set to take place in Copenhagen in December.
The results come from a survey of 1,500 Americans, which was conducted by Pew Research Centre.
The director of the center, Andrew Kohut, said that the reason fewer people consider global warming a serious issue was probably due to the current dismal situation of the economy which means that ‘the priority that people give to pollution and environmental concerns and a whole host of other issues is down’. As another analyst put it, scientific awareness is diminishing due to politics.
Source: Daily Mail, Pew Research Centre, iStockPhoto (Image)
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