Poll: Most Republicans don’t believe in climate change
By Liz Goodwin
A new Pew poll shows a dramatic change in opinion on climate change among Republicans that seems to mirror a new tone on the issue taken up by GOP politicians.
In the poll, 53 percent of Republicans said there is no evidence for climate change, when only three years ago 62 percent of GOPers said they did believe in global warming. Almost 80 percent of Democrats and a majority of independents said there is solid evidence for global warming.
Overall, 59 percent of adults thought there was good evidence that the planet is warming, and 34 percent said global warming is mostly caused by human activity. Both numbers are down steeply from 2006.
An overwhelming number of scientists say global warming exists, is harmful and is caused by human-created carbon emissions, from cars, factories and other sources. Even climate-change "skeptics" agree that more carbon dioxide in the atmosphere means higher temperatures, as Bjorn Lomborg tells The Daily Beast. Lomborg made a documentary saying global pacts to reduce carbon emissions are not a good idea, but agrees that evidence for man-made climate change is undeniable.
"Ninety-seven percent of top scientists are in agreement, but the public is split about 50-50," University of Minnesota professor John Abraham told the AFP. (The Pew poll shows that only 44 percent of Americans think most scientists believe in man-made climate change.) Meanwhile, a group of hundreds of U.S. scientists announced this month they want to speak out on climate change to battle misinformation.
So why the disconnect?
The campaign to raise awareness about global warming took a major hit in 2009 when leaked emails from scientists at the University of East Anglia suggested that some climate scientists were manipulating data. (A government review later cleared the scientists of manipulating data, but the "Climategate" damage was done, at least in terms of public perception.)
As criticism over "Climategate" mounted and President Obama's efforts to secure a carbon-reduction pact at Copenhagen last year failed, Republican politicians — especially those affiliated with the tea party movement — began more boldly to deny man-made global warming. (And it's not just Republicans who are publicly airing doubts about global warming. Democratic Senator Joe Manchin won his election in West Virginia after literally shooting a copy of the failed cap-and-trade energy bill in a campaign ad.)
The liberal blog ThinkProgress estimates that about half of the approximately 100 freshmen GOP Congressmen do not believe in man-made global warming. The soon-to-be chair of the House Science Committee is a climate-change skeptic.
Even among more moderate Republicans, climate change has become a no-go zone.
New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, who ran on a clean-energy platform just a year ago, told a town hall last week he "can't figure this stuff out" when asked if he is convinced man-made global warming is a problem.
"Mankind, is it responsible for global warming? Well I'll tell you something. I have seen evidence on both sides of it. I'm skeptical — I'm skeptical," he said. (His press secretary later walked back the remark a little in speaking to the Huffington Post.)
It's unclear what effects this new trend among Republicans will have on global policy, since austerity-minded European nations have already signaled they are reluctant to act on reducing carbon emissions. The next UN conference on climate change is set for Nov. 29, when a binding deal to reduce carbon emissions is again not expected to be agreed upon by participating nations.
Plug your ears "LA LA LA" if it isn't happening right now it must not be happening ever.
Lets avoid the overly provacative thread titles shall we? I am sure that we have Republican members who disagree with this mind set.
"If the facts are on your side, pound on the facts. If the law is on your side, pound on the law. If neither is on your side, pound on the table."
"The captain claimed our people violated a 4,000 year old treaty forbidding us to develop hyperspace technology. Extermination of our planet was the consequence. The subject did not survive interrogation."
There is a huge shift in opinion, which also now includes the majority of Republicans, a contrast from just three years ago. I think the thread title is accurate, even if provocative. I wouldn't take any action here.
Lì ci sono chiese, macerie, moschee e questure, lì frontiere, prezzi inaccessibile e freddure
Lì paludi, minacce, cecchini coi fucili, documenti, file notturne e clandestini
Qui incontri, lotte, passi sincronizzati, colori, capannelli non autorizzati,
Uccelli migratori, reti, informazioni, piazze di Tutti i like pazze di passioni...
...La tranquillità è importante ma la libertà è tutto!
Whoever says "education does not matter" can try ignorance
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A decision must be made in the life of every nation at the very moment when the grasp of the enemy is at its throat. Then, it seems that the only way to survive is to use the means of the enemy, to rest survival upon what is expedient, to look the other way. Well, the answer to that is 'survival as what'? A country isn't a rock. It's not an extension of one's self. It's what it stands for. It's what it stands for when standing for something is the most difficult! - Chief Judge Haywood
------------ My LPs
Stas Bush wrote:There is a huge shift in opinion, which also now includes the majority of Republicans, a contrast from just three years ago. I think the thread title is accurate, even if provocative. I wouldn't take any action here.
I merely presented a personal opinion.
"If the facts are on your side, pound on the facts. If the law is on your side, pound on the law. If neither is on your side, pound on the table."
"The captain claimed our people violated a 4,000 year old treaty forbidding us to develop hyperspace technology. Extermination of our planet was the consequence. The subject did not survive interrogation."
Isn't it obvious? Scientists are one group of the faceless "elites" and "leftists" who are trying to destroy America by convincing people to spend money on "global warming".
"This statement, in its utterly clueless hubristic stupidity, cannot be improved upon. I merely quote it in admiration of its perfection." - Garibaldi
"Problem is, while the Germans have had many mea culpas and quite painfully dealt with their history, the South is still hellbent on painting themselves as the real victims. It gives them a special place in the history of assholes" - Covenant
"Over three million died fighting for the emperor, but when the war was over he pretended it was not his responsibility. What kind of man does that?'' - Saburo Sakai
Alyeska wrote:Lets avoid the overly provacative thread titles shall we? I am sure that we have Republican members who disagree with this mind set.
Out of curiousity, where are those Republican members? Surely they can speak for themselves on the issue of Global Warming and of the provocative title, but they are notoriously absent from commenting on these things.
"Show me an angel and I will paint you one." - Gustav Courbet
"Quetzalcoatl, plumed serpent of the Aztecs... you are a pussy." - Stephen Colbert
"Really, I'm jealous of how much smarter than me he is. I'm not an expert on anything and he's an expert on things he knows nothing about." - Me, concerning a bullshitter
Alyeska wrote:Lets avoid the overly provacative thread titles shall we? I am sure that we have Republican members who disagree with this mind set.
Out of curiousity, where are those Republican members? Surely they can speak for themselves on the issue of Global Warming and of the provocative title, but they are notoriously absent from commenting on these things.
You have a point. Not speaking out against them is an issue. We have a Conservative member on SB.com who has done what you ask. And he is attacked as being a liberal for it.
"If the facts are on your side, pound on the facts. If the law is on your side, pound on the law. If neither is on your side, pound on the table."
"The captain claimed our people violated a 4,000 year old treaty forbidding us to develop hyperspace technology. Extermination of our planet was the consequence. The subject did not survive interrogation."
I would say that this is due to intelligence. Republican members on this board are either not climate change deniers, or are wise enough to not voice that opinion, as they would get torn to pieces in the ensuing discussion.
A minute's thought suggests that the very idea of this is stupid. A more detailed examination raises the possibility that it might be an answer to the question "how could the Germans win the war after the US gets involved?" - Captain Seafort, in a thread proposing a 1942 'D-Day' in Quiberon Bay
I think the Republicans on this board are only Republicans because they support nuclear power plants and military budgets and maybe war, and prioritize them over less important things like civil rights, marriage equality, economy, healthcare, climate change, reproductive rights, and socioeconomic equality.
"DO YOU WORSHIP HOMOSEXUALS?" - Curtis Saxton (source) shroom is a lovely boy and i wont hear a bad word against him - LUSY-CHAN! Shit! Man, I didn't think of that! It took Shroom to properly interpret the screams of dying people - PeZook Shroom, I read out the stuff you write about us. You are an endless supply of morale down here. :p - an OWS street medic Pink Sugar Heart Attack!
Yeah we tend to have more old school republicans, IE ones that are "really" about fiscal responsablity and small government, not just for those things when they arn't in power.
Most scoial or religious conservatives don't last long on the board.
Praying is another way of doing nothing helpful
"Congratulations, you get a cookie. You almost got a fundamental English word correct." Pick
"Outlaw star has spaceships that punch eachother" Joviwan Read "Tales From The Crossroads"! Read "One Wrong Turn"!
Crossroads Inc. wrote:Yeah we tend to have more old school republicans, IE ones that are "really" about fiscal responsablity and small government, not just for those things when they arn't in power.
Most scoial or religious conservatives don't last long on the board.
Shit, at this point I'm just not changing my party affiliation to Democrat so I can vote for somebody other than Palin in the primary. After that, I probably will.
-A.L.
"Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence...Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan 'press on' has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race." - Calvin Coolidge
"If you're falling off a cliff you may as well try to fly, you've got nothing to lose." - John Sheridan (Babylon 5)
"Sometimes you got to roll the hard six." - William Adama (Battlestar Galactica)
I don't really care about this, but a more serious problem is that most Republicans don't seem to believe in peak oil either (or rather, that oil prices could rise for any reason other than evil government preventing oil companies from drilling in the US).
Starglider wrote:I don't really care about this, but a more serious problem is that most Republicans don't seem to believe in peak oil either (or rather, that oil prices could rise for any reason other than evil government preventing oil companies from drilling in the US).
Some of us do (believe that the oil will run out), but why do you think I couch all of my pro-nuclear rhetoric in terms like "Energy Independence" and "National Security" when I talk to other conservatives (as opposed to the "No greenhouse gasses" and "less radio-nucleotides into the environment than coal" when I talk to liberals).
National Security, both militarily and in terms of energy are why I tend to vote republican. I simply don't trust the democrats on those issues. Look at President Obama whom I voiced my concerns about back before his election, only to have My concernsmade real.
Now yes, President Obama has now secured a commitment for a Europe wide I am willing to lessen my criticism a little, and I do say Bravo to the new agreement.
"I believe in the future. It is wonderful because it stands on what has been achieved." - Sergei Korolev
National Security, both militarily and in terms of energy are why I tend to vote republican. I simply don't trust the democrats on those issues
Trusting Republicans on this issue got us a pointless war and tens of thousands dead, so what's your point? Pointless wars are very bad for national security.
"I spit on metaphysics, sir."
"I pity the woman you marry." -Liberty
This is the guy they want to use to win over "young people?" Are they completely daft? I'd rather vote for a pile of shit than a Jesus freak social regressive.
Here's hoping that his political career goes down in flames and, hopefully, a hilarious gay sex scandal. -Tanasinn
You can't expect sodomy to ruin every conservative politician in this country. -Battlehymn Republic
National Security, both militarily and in terms of energy are why I tend to vote republican. I simply don't trust the democrats on those issues
Trusting Republicans on this issue got us a pointless war and tens of thousands dead, so what's your point? Pointless wars are very bad for national security.
Not to mention the gigantic cost of these wars. I never see Republicans who whine about the deficit ever mention the gigantic cost of the war.
"This statement, in its utterly clueless hubristic stupidity, cannot be improved upon. I merely quote it in admiration of its perfection." - Garibaldi
"Problem is, while the Germans have had many mea culpas and quite painfully dealt with their history, the South is still hellbent on painting themselves as the real victims. It gives them a special place in the history of assholes" - Covenant
"Over three million died fighting for the emperor, but when the war was over he pretended it was not his responsibility. What kind of man does that?'' - Saburo Sakai
So? Anti-ballistic missile defense JDAMRAAMLRSLBM9F-117/11 and the continued persecution of the war on terror are far more important than things like climate change, marriage equality, civil rights, healthcare, the economy, de/re/regulation, the accountability of people who led the country into a war based on false pretenses, the accountability of people engaged in torture and other such inhumane acts, stem cells, the increasing empowerment and encroachments of the religious right, etc.
*chortles*
Why, none of those other trivial concerns are as important as a single spanking new nuclear reactor. Hell, if we threw in an XBOX-70 VALKYLIE MINOGUE, then all of those other trivial concerns and issues are practically worthless.
EDIT:
We've seen all the good things the Bush Administration has done in its eight years. And then you elected Obama. I can't believe you people wanted to throw away all the great things America has done for the world. Why would you ever want to do that? Tsk tsk.
"DO YOU WORSHIP HOMOSEXUALS?" - Curtis Saxton (source) shroom is a lovely boy and i wont hear a bad word against him - LUSY-CHAN! Shit! Man, I didn't think of that! It took Shroom to properly interpret the screams of dying people - PeZook Shroom, I read out the stuff you write about us. You are an endless supply of morale down here. :p - an OWS street medic Pink Sugar Heart Attack!
Starglider wrote:I don't really care about this, but a more serious problem is that most Republicans people don't seem to believe in peak oil either
Fixed that for you. Although peak oil awareness has been increasing, most people still not believe that it's real or think that it's really a major concern. It's especially funny how quite a lot of people think that because the $100+ prices of 2008 didn't last, peak oil has been canceled. Just like people who think that global warming is not true when there's a cold winter or chilly summer.
The cold fact is still that there has been no significant increase in crude oil production after 2004 despite increasing prices all the way to 2008, and now we are back to 2007 level prices with an overall increasing trend. There is really nothing else that has to be said about this thing. The age of cheap oil is over and net energy extracted from the available crude oil sources decreases significantly when production shifts from traditional land based fields to deep water. The actual quantitative peak is relatively insignificant, although it may still very well turn out to be 2008 (which in turn was only marginally higher than 2005, despite increasing prices). Peak net energy from crude oil is behind us in any case.
Alyeska wrote:Lets avoid the overly provacative thread titles shall we? I am sure that we have Republican members who disagree with this mind set.
Out of curiousity, where are those Republican members? Surely they can speak for themselves on the issue of Global Warming and of the provocative title, but they are notoriously absent from commenting on these things.
Yo.
I'm a conservative Republican - well, right of center, anyhow - and I completely agree with the thread title. The party as a whole has been getting crazier and crazier over the course of my life, and the change appears to be accelerating.
I used to be rather conservative in my leanings (listening to Rush "I'm a rock and roll clown, and I do cocaine oxycotin" Limbaugh during one's preteen and teen years will do that to a person.) Only to eventually grow up and realize that the GOP platform (Zombie Reagan for President!) and reality frequently do not intersect.
These days, I maintain my legacy Republican registration for the sole purpose of voting for people who aren't insane in the primaries (and then I end up voting Democrat in the general elections anyway.) Since being insane seems to be a core requirement for GOP candidates in Arizona most of the United States these days, it effectively means I vote for Teddy Roosevelt a lot.
"
- PeZook
