December 14, 2009 5:00 AM

Poll: Just 37% Call Global Warming High Priority

By
Brian Montopoli
Topics
Polling
(CBS)
With world leaders debating how to address climate change in Copenhagen and the U.S. Senate poised to take up a climate bill in the coming months, a new CBS News/New York Times poll finds that just 37 percent of Americans believe the issue should be a priority for government leaders.

That's a significant drop from April of 2007, when 52 percent of those surveyed said the issue should be a high priority.

Complete Poll Results

A majority of Americans (70 percent) do consider global warming to be a "serious problem." But nearly two in three either see it as "not serious" (23 percent overall) or a serious problem but not a high priority (33 percent).

In April of 2007, just 8 percent of Americans said global warming was not serious.

The change in priorities can be attributed in part to the economic downturn. In the April 2007 poll, 52 percent said protecting the environment is more important than stimulating the economy. Thirty-six percent said the economy was a higher priority.

Today, however, a clear majority – 61 percent – say stimulating the economy should come first. Only 29 percent say protecting the environment is more important.

Democrats are more likely than Republicans to view global warming as an urgent problem. Fifty-two percent say it should be a high priority, compared with 22 percent of Republicans. Nearly 40 percent of Republicans say global warming is not a serious issue.

There is also a gender divide: Men are far more likely to say global warming is not serious (30 percent say so) than woman (16 percent).

This poll was conducted among a random sample of 1,031 adults nationwide, interviewed by telephone December 4-8, 2009. Phone numbers were dialed from random digit dial samples of both standard land-line and cell phones. The error due to sampling for results based on the entire sample could be plus or minus three percentage points. The error for subgroups is higher.

This poll release conforms to the Standards of Disclosure of the National Council on Public Polls.

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by Imadinnerjacket December 15, 2009 7:04 PM EST
How come I never get polled?.. I could have made it 36%
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by TheStolenGiraffe December 15, 2009 12:34 PM EST
you can blame carbon emissions on big corporations that manufacture goods...it is their burden to cut emissions. collectively...all the cars driven in america can't amount to half of the CO2 emissions that all the factories in America produce.
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by TheStolenGiraffe December 15, 2009 12:30 PM EST
I can't believe a word about CO2 destroying our environment after reading about how those scientists fixed their own research. Our environment is being destroyed and we're only focusing on one of the reasons...if we want to save our environment its going to take more than just cutting CO2 emissions. those of you crying for environmental change need to look further than CO2...take a visit over to a landfill and see how we dispose of our garbage, take a trip to the nearest lake/river and try drinking from it, step in your background and count how many trees actually stand there. thats the cause of our environmental change...you're all just being set up for a global carbon tax to be initiated.
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by tomasreal December 15, 2009 11:42 AM EST
When I was a boy in the late 50ies and early 60ies we used to climb into large Austrian pines behind the drive in and watch movies. The trees were at least 20 years old. This was Jacksonville FL. They were all killed by the cold at a later date. The same is true of all the orange growths in other parts of north and north central Florida. It was apparently warm enough from the 1930 to 1960 for oranges and Austrian pines to grow in north Florida. It is also true that in the late 19th century (1890) there were orange growths in Jacksonville Florida. Since the hard freezes of the 60ies no one has been able to grow oranges or Austrian pines in north Florida although I?m starting up some orange trees in McIntosh hoping for another 30 year warm spell.

That global warming is caused and can be controlled by man is complete and utter bull...
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by cdegolier December 14, 2009 8:15 PM EST
One would think that if these world leaders actually gave a crap or believed what they were saying they would have had a conference call instead of polluting the air with their private jets and limos.
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by fedupwithlies2 December 15, 2009 1:45 AM EST
yeah. will never happen.these Senators have a unlimited credit care paid for by the middle class of the US.
by troutfishyman December 14, 2009 2:12 PM EST
It is really interesting to note that the Beck article was published in the Energy and Environment journal:


Skeptics on the journal's editorial staff include Boehmer-Christiansen herself and anthropologist Benny Peiser. Contributors considered as climate skeptics or contrarians, have included Sallie Baliunas, Robert M. Carter, Ian Castles, Bjorn Lomborg, Patrick Michaels, Ross McKitrick, Stephen McIntyre, Garth Paltridge, Roger Pielke Jr., Fred Singer, and Willie Soon.

When asked about the publication of these papers Boehmer-Christiansen replied, "Im following my political agenda -- a bit, anyway. But isn't that the right of the editor?"

Some of the journal's articles opposing the mainstream scientific positions on climate change have been quoted by policy makers known to be skeptical of the subject, such as U.S. Senator James Inhofe and U.S. Congressman Joe Barton.
Reply to this comment
by chevyhotrod December 14, 2009 3:34 PM EST
More Than 700 International Scientists Dissent Over
Man-Made Global Warming Claims

http://epw.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Files.View&FileStore_id=83947f5d-d84a-4a84-ad5d-6e2d71db52d9

Data, facts and peer reviewed studies.
by dibbs977 December 14, 2009 2:10 PM EST
Our Planet is being destroyed---please let's make the changes we need to save it. We can do it---but we have to work together. We have to stop letting all the capitalists destroy our world to make money.
Reply to this comment
by chevyhotrod December 14, 2009 3:34 PM EST
More Than 700 International Scientists Dissent Over
Man-Made Global Warming Claims

http://epw.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Files.View&FileStore_id=83947f5d-d84a-4a84-ad5d-6e2d71db52d9

Data, facts and peer reviewed studies.
by wayneepalmer December 14, 2009 6:02 PM EST
Gosh, we need to kill all of those people they employ, too, you know so they don't starve to death slowly while making more CO2.
by troutfishyman December 14, 2009 2:03 PM EST
PS

I wonder if the author is Glenn Beck's father? That would explain a LOT.

LOL!
Reply to this comment
by chevyhotrod December 14, 2009 3:34 PM EST
More Than 700 International Scientists Dissent Over
Man-Made Global Warming Claims

http://epw.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Files.View&FileStore_id=83947f5d-d84a-4a84-ad5d-6e2d71db52d9

Data, facts and peer reviewed studies.
by troutfishyman December 14, 2009 2:01 PM EST
Once again, here are NUMEROUS CO2 data sets, none of which agree with Beck!



http://cdiac.ornl.gov/trends/co2/contents.htm
Reply to this comment
by chevyhotrod December 14, 2009 3:34 PM EST
More Than 700 International Scientists Dissent Over
Man-Made Global Warming Claims

http://epw.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Files.View&FileStore_id=83947f5d-d84a-4a84-ad5d-6e2d71db52d9

Data, facts and peer reviewed studies.
by troutfishyman December 14, 2009 1:59 PM EST
by louiville35 December 14, 2009 1:54 PM EST
by troutfishyman December 14, 2009 1:44 PM EST
louiville35


Here is a nice little explanation of how Beck got his CO2 numbers wrong:

http://scienceblogs.com/deltoid/2006/10/more_nonsense_about_co2.php
===================================================================================

Try to stay up will you yours is from 2006

www.biokurs.de/treibhaus/180CO2/author_reply9-2.pdf







LOL! It is the author defending himself! Classic.

But seriously, if you accept his data, you have 2 big problems. First, you need to explain where all the CO2 came from to form those huge spikes he shows. Second, you need to explain why it does not agree with ANY of the numerous CO2 data sets.
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