A new survey by the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication has found that perspectives on climate change are changing among Republicans. Although 75 percent of Democrats believe that climate change is actually happening and is mostly due to human action, only 47 percent of conservative Republicans think global warming is a reality. However, the poll found that this figure is up 19 percentage points over the past two years. Only 26 percent of conservative Republicans believe climate change is mostly caused by people, according to the survey.
The blog ClimateProgress states that a whopping 70 percent of Republicans in the U.S. Senate deny the scientific consensus that, not only is climate change happening, but that humans are the main cause. However, the growing number of Republican voters who are concerned about global warming want their elected officials to also share that view, creating pressure on some Republican senators to change their views.
According to the National Center for Science Education, the survey asked a “nationally representative survey of 1,004 American adults aged 18 and over, who are registered to vote. When asked, “Do you think that global warming is happening?” overall, 73 percent of respondents answered yes, 11 percent said no, and 15 percent responded don’t know. However, as noted above, the percentage differences were significant between Democrats, independents and Republicans.
Respondents were asked to complete the sentence, “Assuming global warming is happening do you think it is …” “Caused mostly by human activities” was chosen by 56 percent, 34 percent chose “caused mostly by natural changes in the environment,” 4 percent indicated both humans and nature, and 5 percent declined to choose because “global warming isn’t happening.”
Specifically, Sens. Kelly Ayotte, R-New Hampshire, Mark Kirk, R-Illinois and Rob Portman, R-Ohio, may be vulnerable to Democratic challenges on the environment because of their climate change beliefs.
Michelle Pautz, who is an associate professor of political science at the University of Dayton, offered an explanation of the information in the blog. “By acknowledging climate change, a (Republican) candidate could appeal to voters who think it is ridiculous that a candidate does not agree with the overwhelming consensus of peer-reviewed scientific research that documents climate change is happening.”