Still a lot of people convinced that warming is happening. Guess they’ve been agit propped pretty well.
Most respondents said they don’t believe they will be personally harmed by any global warming that may happen. That is obviously a great disappointment to the researchers.
Thanks to Sam Karnick, Director of research for Heartland for this heads up.
Press Release from Yale University
For Immediate Release – Contact: Anthony Leiserowitz, 203-432-4865
ABOUT 1 IN 4 AMERICANS SAY GLOBAL WARMING IS NOT HAPPENING
HALF SAY THEY ARE “WORRIED” ABOUT IT
January 15, 2014 – (New Haven, CT) A national survey conducted in the final months of 2013 finds that there has been an increase in the proportion of Americans who believe global warming is not happening (23%, up 7 percentage points since April 2013). But about two in three Americans (63%) believe global warming is happening, a number that has been consistent since spring 2013. The proportion of Americans who say they “don’t know” whether or not global warming is happening has dropped 6 points – from 20% to 14% – since spring of 2013.
On other measures, the survey found that public awareness over the past year has remained essentially stable:
About half of Americans (51%) say they are “somewhat” (38%) or “very worried” (15%) about global warming.
Fewer than half of Americans (38%) believe they personally will be harmed a “moderate amount” or a “great deal” by global warming. By contrast, majorities believe that global warming will harm future generations of people (65%) and plant and animal species (65%).
“Our findings show that the public’s understanding of global warming’s reality, causes, and risks has not improved and has, in at least one important respect, gone in the wrong direction over the past year,” said researcher Ed Maibach, PhD, of George Mason University. “Better public communication about global warming is needed now more than ever.”
The survey also found that Americans (59%) are “interested” in global warming.
Moreover, about four in 10 say they feel “helpless” (43%), “disgusted” (42%), or “sad” (40%) when thinking about global warming. By contrast, four in ten (42%), say they feel “hopeful” about the subject.
“Global warming stirs a number of emotions among Americans,” said lead researcher Anthony Leiserowitz, PhD, of Yale University. “But these emotions differ greatly across ‘Global Warming’s Six Americas’. For example, other than saying they feel ‘interested,’ the ‘Alarmed’ are mostly afraid, sad, and angry about global warming, while the ‘Dismissive’ are mostly disgusted and angry. These different emotional responses are clearly fueling the debate.”
These findings come from a nationally representative survey – Climate Change in the American Mind – conducted by the Yale Project on Climate Change Communication and the George Mason University Center for Climate Change Communication. Interview dates: November 23-December 9, 2013. Interviews: 830 Adults (18+).
Total average margin of error: +/- 3 percentage points at the 95% confidence level. The research Energy Foundation, the 11th Hour Project, the Grantham Foundation, and the V.K. Rasmussen Foundation funded the research.
In addition to Dr. Leiserowitz, principal investigators included Geoff Feinberg, Dr. Seth Rosenthal, and Dr. Jennifer Marlon 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:
Anthony Leiserowitz, 203-432-4865, anthony.leiserowitz@yale.edu
Edward Maibach, 703-993-1587, emaibach@gmu.edu
Lynsy Smithson Stanley, 646-559-8284, lsmithsonstanley@climatenexus.org
For more information, please go to:
http://environment.yale.edu/climate-communication/article/Climate-Beliefs-November-2013
Nah, we’ve made a deal — I stay on the land, and they stay in the water. Works great for everyone. ^_~
(Actually, the only one that really bugs me is that stupid-small Irukandji box jellyfish, I think it’s called, the one that’s about 1cm in width, nearly transparent, and will kill you painfully over the course of about 10-14 days, whether you survive or not, hehe.)
Aw shucks and dang, Smokey, you ‘fraid of our little critters, are you?
On the other hand, as was made evident in the 5 minute introductions to the oceanography 101 lecture sessions a friend of mine once took, 90% of everything in the water that is likely to kill you seems to live in or around Australia. So, you pick your poisons.
“AGW? Bah. Rubbish. Now make sure the air lines from my jelly-proof suit don’t get fouled on the shark cage while I go wading….” 😉
I’m so glad I live in Australia.
Our current Prime Minister, right-wing of course, recently made the rather intellectual observation, in public, when asked about global warming by a journalist, that “climate change and global warming are crap”.
Succinct! No mucking about with words. Straight to the point.
What a delight and breath of fresh air!
I have family members who steadfastly believe in glo-bull warming mostly because they believe that the majority of the media simply could not be lying to them. Some of them even believe in the mythical drowning polar bears and the equally mythical “cold = warming” meme being pushed currently. They are determined not to ever believe their own lying eyes.
The real problem is the vast number of wannabe crusaders in need of A cause. In college I met an alarming number of people that would automatically join any organization that claimed it was going to save the world. They didn’t even read the pamphlets.
The big danger is in a population that doesn’t believe the concept of global warming is controversial. That intellectual apathy is what gives allegedly representative governments the power to pass background legislation and executive policies without public analysis. People just bear the burden of the high cost of regulations without even knowing that the regulation is based solely on a flawed premise. The widespread belief that it’s not worth arguing over is exactly the attitude we must fight. The propagandists aren’t stupid. If AGW were considered a “fact” it would be subject to scrutiny. Beliefs can go unquestioned for generations.
Thus far, the effect of the propaganda is limited to making people feel that it’s easier to acknowledge global warming (proxy for CAGW and climate change and need to stand for “good”) than argue with it. Sort of a “you can’t fight city hall.” That puts it in the realm of belief instead of fact and that’s relatively good. If we could get the climate scientists, grade school teachers and/or journalists to apply some professional ethics, the world saving crusade fantasy wouldn’t get much lip service except as the distant future “what if” scientific conjecture that it is.
I would have included politicians in that group, but professional ethics doesn’t come to mind. It’s really quite amazing that there is anything like skepticism given the array of self-deluded crusaders in need of THE CAUSE.
How can anyone believe there hasn’t been any warming (say during the Industrial Age)? Of course there has. This is uncontroversial, albeit the exact amount and causes are subject to debate. Furthermore, who cares? GW is not at issue. CAGW is the only thing that matters (outside of academe). No one would give 2 hoots about GW or even AGW, absent the prospect of CAGW.
What a useless survey.
This survey shows what can be achieved through sustained climate propaganda over many years.
Younger people may not know that the sustained use of propaganda was how Adolf Hitler was able to control the German people.
Closer to home, sustained propaganda was able to achieve a disastrous amendment to the US Constitution in favor of prohibition of alcohol, a measure that turned over a multi-billion dollar industry to criminals and was the most important factor in establishing nationwide and multinational crime syndicates.
“Our findings show that the public’s understanding of global warming’s reality, causes, and risks has not improved”
They don’t even bother to pretend to be unbiased anymore. Imagine what the results of a truly neutral survey would be.