Global Temperatures and American Skepticism on the Rise

American belief in global warming is declining. A recent poll by Pew Research shows that just 34% of Americans see solid evidence of anthropogenic warming, down from 50% in 2006. Opinions are largely divided along party lines. Only 16% of Republicans believe in anthropogenic warming.

Much of this skepticism reflects a belief that there is no scientific consensus on climate change. In fact, the IPCC, a panel of the world’s leading climate scientists, found warming to be unequivocal and declared that it was highly probable that humans were responsible. Furthermore, they demonstrated that warming poses a serious risk to standards of living around the world. The science is certainly complex, but error bars should not translate to “erroneous.”

Has scientific illiteracy and media controversy eroded our ability to think critically and act positively? Has the fossil fuel lobby succeeded in its PR campaign? Do these numbers correlate with religious dogma and place the argument outside of the scientific discourse?

Green Tech and our fellow human beings would benefit significantly from a system of inclusive environmental accounting, such as cap-and-trade. A basic prerequisite for climate legislation is public education. Please join the conversation on the new NETG facebook page and everywhere.

Pew Report...