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Fewer Americans See Solid Evidence of Global Warming
pewresearch.org ^ | Oct. 22, 2009

Posted on 10/22/2009 10:13:04 AM PDT by Free ThinkerNY

There 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.

The latest national survey by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press, conducted Sept. 30-Oct. 4 among 1,500 adults reached on cell phones and landlines, finds that 57% think there is solid evidence that the average temperature on earth has been getting warmer over the past few decades. In April 2008, 71% said there was solid evidence of rising global temperatures.

Over the same period, there has been a comparable decline in the proportion of Americans who say global temperatures are rising as a result of human activity, such as burning fossil fuels. Just 36% say that currently, down from 47% last year.

The decline in the belief in solid evidence of global warming has come across the political spectrum, but has been particularly pronounced among independents. Just 53% of independents now see solid evidence of global warming, compared with 75% who did so in April 2008. Republicans, who already were highly skeptical of the evidence of global warming, have become even more so: just 35% of Republicans now see solid evidence of rising global temperatures, down from 49% in 2008 and 62% in 2007. Fewer Democrats also express this view -- 75% today compared with 83% last year.

Despite the growing public skepticism about global warming, the survey finds more support than opposition for a policy to set limits on carbon emissions.

(Excerpt) Read more at pewresearch.org ...


TOPICS: News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: globalwarming

1 posted on 10/22/2009 10:13:04 AM PDT by Free ThinkerNY
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To: Free ThinkerNY; OKSooner; honolulugal; Killing Time; Beowulf; Mr. Peabody; RW_Whacko; ...
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FReepmail me to get on or off

Ping me if you find one I've missed.



2 posted on 10/22/2009 10:22:07 AM PDT by xcamel (The urge to save humanity is always a false front for the urge to rule it. - H. L. Mencken)
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Comment #3 Removed by Moderator

To: Free ThinkerNY

Wow...there are some huge shifts here.


4 posted on 10/22/2009 10:24:27 AM PDT by xjcsa (And these three remain: change, hope and government. But the greatest of these is government.)
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To: xjcsa
Colossal !
5 posted on 10/22/2009 10:27:07 AM PDT by Eric in the Ozarks
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To: xjcsa

“...you can fool all of the people some of the time, and some of the people all the time, but you can’t fool all the people all of the time” -I don’t know who said it.


6 posted on 10/22/2009 10:31:54 AM PDT by Wildbill22
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To: Eric in the Ozarks

The Rocky Mountain region went from being the 2nd most GW-believing region in the country to the LEAST GW-believing region - 75% to 44%, a drop of 31 percentage points, and that’s for those who believe there’s solid evidence the Earth is warming; some of that 44% would say it’s natural, not anthropogenic.


7 posted on 10/22/2009 10:39:24 AM PDT by xjcsa (And these three remain: change, hope and government. But the greatest of these is government.)
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To: Free ThinkerNY; FrPR; enough_idiocy; Desdemona; rdl6989; Little Bill; IrishCatholic; Normandy; ...
 


Beam me to Planet Gore !

8 posted on 10/22/2009 10:43:48 AM PDT by steelyourfaith (Limit all U.S. politicians to two terms: One in office and one in prison!)
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To: Free ThinkerNY
A majority (56%) of Americans thinks the United States should join other countries in setting standards to address global climate change while 32% say the U.S. should set its own standards; 5% say neither and 6% are unsure.

This part is a bit dishonest. "Neither" and "unsure" were not offered as options; only "joining other countries" and "setting our own standards" were offered. So what it really says is 11% took the initiative to reject the choices offered and substitute their own. The numbers would look very different if "no need to address/not a problem" was offered as a choice.

9 posted on 10/22/2009 10:44:47 AM PDT by xjcsa (And these three remain: change, hope and government. But the greatest of these is government.)
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To: Wildbill22
you can fool all of the people some of the time, and some of the people all the time, but you can’t fool all the people all of the time”

P.T. Barnum?

But who said "you can fool some of the people all the time, all the people some of the time, and that's good enough"?
10 posted on 10/22/2009 10:56:49 AM PDT by terpsichorean
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To: Wildbill22

Will Rogers


11 posted on 10/22/2009 5:23:27 PM PDT by CIDKauf (No man has a good enough memory to be a successful liar.)
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To: Free ThinkerNY

It’s Fox News’s fault.


12 posted on 10/23/2009 8:45:09 AM PDT by GSWarrior
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To: Free ThinkerNY

Global warming is a fraud and characters like Al Gore know it and should be arrested for perpetrating one of the biggest frauds in American history on the American people.

All of the proceeds he has received from perpetrating that fraud should be returned to there rightfull owners.The American Taxpayer.


13 posted on 10/23/2009 8:58:30 AM PDT by puppypusher (The world is going to the Dogs.)
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To: Free ThinkerNY

If you tally those three subgroups, you only get 1381.
14 posted on 10/23/2009 9:35:16 AM PDT by neverdem (Xin loi minh oi)
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To: Free ThinkerNY
Despite the growing public skepticism about global warming, the survey finds more support than opposition for a policy to set limits on carbon emissions.

For now, that is. Once they realize that CO2 has NOTHING to do with the warming or cooling of the Earth, they may starting thinking why should be pay so much extra for CO2 emissions, when CO2 isn't a problem, at all.

15 posted on 10/23/2009 10:51:23 AM PDT by SuziQ
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