One in Four in U.S. Are Solidly Skeptical of Global Warming
Nearly 40% are “Concerned Believers” in global warming, others are mixed
PRINCETON, NJ — Over the past decade, Americans have clustered into three broad groups on global warming. The largest, currently describing 39% of U.S. adults, are what can be termed “Concerned Believers” — those who attribute global warming to human actions and are worried about it. This is followed by the “Mixed Middle,” at 36%. And one in four Americans — the “Cool Skeptics” — are not worried about global warming much or at all. (see graph)
The rate of Concerned Believers has varied some over the past decade and half, but is currently identical to the earliest estimate, from 2001. Over the same period of time, the ranks of Cool Skeptics have swelled, while the Mixed Middle — once the largest group — has declined modestly.
These groupings stem from a special “cluster” analysis of four questions that measure Americans’ belief and concerns about human-induced global warming, all of which have been asked together on Gallup’s annual Environment survey seven times since 2001. The latest results are from the March 6-9, 2014, Environment poll. However, the groupings derive from analysis of seven years of combined data.
Gallup has recently reported on a number of the individual trends included in the cluster analysis as part of its Climate Change series. This analysis provides a unique way of summarizing Americans’ overall stance on global warming.
Complete report here: http://www.gallup.com/poll/168620/one-four-solidly-skeptical-global-warming.aspx
I wonder what percentage of “Concerned Believers” drive cars, use electricity, heat/cool their homes, have kids, etc…probably more than half.
It is interesting to compare this with the YouGov poll (2013) on evolution:
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/07/23/on_in_five_americans_believe_in_scientific_evolution_without_god/
37% believe God created humans
25% believe God guided human development
21% believe humans evelved without God’s direction
Well CAGW has always been a religion
The number of believers in man-made global warming hasn’t changed precisely because they are believers. They are immune to additional evidence and factual information. The mixed middle are more open to more data, and have been migrating to the cool skeptics side, despite the huge propaganda effort by the media, well funded eco groups and our own government.
It’s interesting that the educational demographics for concerned believers and cool skeptics are nearly identical, but that they don’t differentiate liberal arts education from technical/hard science education.
Funny thing about reality… it cares not a whit how many believe or disbelieve it.
Thanks for the update. It is interesting.
My problem has always been that I do believe that the planet has warmed and cooled many times in the past. I also believe that it has warmed a lot since the end of the little ice age and I am thankful that it has warmed. CO2 has nothing to do with it, other than a warming planet looks to produce more CO2 via natural causes.
But I am concerned about the political thing called “climate change”. I am concerned that the various state governments around the world will use this scare-mongering fraud to drive us all into energy poverty and further enslave us.
Which group do I fall into?
I’m not impressed by statistics. You can’t vote for, or against the truth. Remember, a significant number of Americans, when polled, believe in angels and UFOs as well. Their opinion on any given topic is tainted by this reality.
I wish they would give the exact wording of their questions. Results can be easily manipulated by formulating questions to tilt toward the desired outcome.
Sad that skepticism has declined a little since 2010. Evidently propaganda spending has had an effect.
Three quarters of people believe the what the MSM tells them – pretty much without question – and regard the remaining quarter, if they are vocal, as fringe conspiracy types or worse (because that is exactly what they have been brainwashed to see them as).
We can rant on blogs like this, but it’s hard when the MSM is ‘in on the game’ (oops, I must be a conspiracy theorist). By in on the game I mean, of course, complicit in the mass transfer of wealth and implementation of agenda 21 and, heck, you all know what I mean.
Man in the street isn’t even aware he’s getting shafted – it’s for the children, save the planet. They suck up the propaganda like a sponge. A large part of the reason for that is television; it has provided a much more effective propaganda tool (especially the rolling 24 hour news broadcast format) than newspapers ever could have.
Depressing, really.
“Concerned believers”… as I have said for years – this hoax has become a religion for these fools.
I am concerned about global warming.
Not the poorly defined and measured physical phenomenon, but the politically motivated power play that filth like Al “I invented the Internet” Gore use to get rich and powerful and destroy opportunity for the people he looks down on. And in any meaningful measurable way that is the only way global warming matters- how the political class uses it against the rest of us.
I will be leaving all of my lights on this evening as a testament to the incredible advancement of Western civilization despite the best efforts of scoundrels like Obama and Gore.
The most telling response to me is to the “Cause of the rise in Earth’s temperature” question. From the believers replies, it looks as if the EPS has done a great job of painting plant food as pollution.
Now excuse me while I go pollute my hot house tomatoes.
This is a good juncture to point out that most thinking people see the “climate change” debate as a smoke screen in front of the resource limitation-human population crisis. Ever since Maurice Strong and the Club of Rome people pointed out the natural limits to our ability to consume more and more of the earth’s limited resources, we have tried to turn the debate to one side of the other of “What’s happening now?” Unimportant. We just don’t want the Warmists to hijack the argument base on bad science. We are engaged in a game of triage, to survive, not to polish.
Uggh. “it looks as if the EPS has done a great job of painting plant food as pollution.” Should read:
it looks as if the EPA has done a great job of painting plant food as pollution.
Me and my cantaloupe fingers.
@Brian H – it is within the margin of error.
Also see http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/04/21/big-bang-poll-american-doubt_n_5184931.html?utm_hp_ref=tw
Concerned believers skew female and young, groups tending to react emotionally to danger and threat. Males and older people tend to be less risk-averse so it make sense they would be cool skeptics. These questions aim at a visceral response rather than a thought out position (using the words “worry”, “serious”, and “threat” go for emotion, not reasoning).
Hey! They didn’t ask me, so make that 2 in 4.
Time for the new Common Core Next Generation Science Standards to shift those ratios in the direction of True Believers. With its concept of Three dimensional learning of Overall Disciplinary Concepts, Crosscutting principles, and desired practices and behaviors embedded in learning tasks and projects the plan is to have Climate Change as a crucial lens of the K-12 experience.
It’s all over the UNESCO intended curriculum globally and embedded now in Biology and AP Human Geography and gaming. It’s also all through the math curriculum of model, model, model real life problems as the new goal to be relevant.
I really am not kidding about the planned role of online gaming as supposedly acceptable classroom learning now via the Common Core. This came out today. http://blogs.kqed.org/mindshift/2014/04/tapping-into-the-potential-of-video-games-and-uninhibited-play-for-learning-education/
It cites Jane MacGonigal. I have read and written about the cited book Reality is Broken and she does say these games are being designed to alter students’ perception of reality. Make them believe through immersion in virtual reality that this is how world works in fact so students will feel the need to act for transformative change.
They’ll never even hear there’s been an almost 2 decade pause in temp increases. It will not be designed into the games’ parameters.
Without dwelling on what exactly constitutes “significant”, you are indulging in the logic of the excluded middle. If, as a matter of faith, I believe in angels, it is a far different issue than evaluating the evidence to determine whether I believe in the phenomenon of AGW, with or without the “C”. The former is the realm of faith and theology, not know for an abundance of testable facts and the home of revelation from burning bushes to dreams. The latter is, in theory if not in practice, amenable to testing and replication.
Likewise for UFO’s, anything moving about in the sky that isn’t identified is, perforce, a UFO. The implication regards a belief in “little green men”. That may or may not be the intended response; it would require an inspection of the survey question(s). Again, whether or not someone believes that aliens are buzzing the planet doesn’t directly indicate how well or poorly said individual applies the scientific method as regards the question of global warming.
While the number of true believers have stayed the same since 2001, number of skeptics has doubled.
Eustace Cranch says:
April 22, 2014 at 9:29 am
Funny thing about reality… it cares not a whit how many believe or disbelieve it.
You have the wrong end of the stick. Reality isn’t about belief or disbelief. It is about judging the evidence for oneself. That is why the direction is always from some form of belief, even if based on assumptions, towards skeptcism, and finally reality, not the reverse. Skeptics/climate realists have done the hard work of slogging through the information available to all, whereas Believers merely accept the pap doled out to them.
Kitefreak:
Precisely.
It would be interesting to ask the same questions of members of the American Legislation.
Ask them twice, once anonymously.