Partisan split on climate change grows; meanwhile EPA chief pushes staff talking points that downplay climate change - Entrepreneur Generations

"Fewer Republicans say they believe that there is a scientific consensus on climate change or that the effects of global warming have already begun, according to a new Gallup poll, which showed a widening partisan gap near record levels," Steven Mufson reports for The Washington Post. Meanwhile, "an increasing number of Democrats believe that the effects of global warming have already begun and that warming will pose a “serious threat” in their lifetimes. As in earlier surveys, an overwhelming portion of Democrats are worried about climate change and link it to human activities."

Ninety percent of Democrats said they worry about global warming and think it's caused by humans, while only a third of Republicans do. Seventy percent of Republicans think the threat of global warming is "generally exaggerated" but only 1 in 25 Democrats do. Between last year and this year, the gap increased between Republicans' and Democrats' beliefs on whether climate change has already begun affecting the environment. This year 34 percent of Republicans said it was, down from 41 percent in 2017. This year 82 percent of Democrats said it was, up from 73 percent in 2017.

"Gallup asked whether people agreed that most scientists believe global warming is occurring, and 42 percent of Republicans said yes, down from 53 percent a year earlier and back to a level last seen in 2014. Just 35 percent of Republicans said that they believe global warming is caused by human activities, down from 40 percent," Mufson reports.

Of those surveyed, 45 percent overall said global warming would be a serious threat within their lifetimes, which was the highest overall percentage recorded since Gallup began asking the question in 1997. And most Americans surveyed believe that most scientists agree that global warming is happening, that it is caused by humans and that it has already begun affecting the planet.

Independents changed their minds in the past year as well: 62 percent of Independents surveyed this year believe global warming is caused by human activities, down from 70 percent last year. It's possible that the dramatic drop was not caused because longtime Independents overall became less convinced about global warming, but rather because many Republican voters have started identifying as Independents.

The Trump administration seems eager to encourage doubts about climate change; Environmental Protection Agency chief Scott Pruitt sent an email to staffers this week instructing them to use language that downplays or casts doubt on human activity contributing to climate change, Dino Grandoni reports for The Post.

from The Rural Blog https://ift.tt/2J8Bh8i Partisan split on climate change grows; meanwhile EPA chief pushes staff talking points that downplay climate change - Entrepreneur Generations

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