polls
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Surprise, surprise: NWF-sponsored poll finds support for climate bill
Hey, we couldn’t find a photo that screamed “polling,” so how about this period shot of Seattle City Light workers?Seattle Municipal Archives via FlickrThere’s some good news about public support for climate legislation in a new Zogby poll commissioned by the National Wildlife Federation (NWF). Seventy-one percent of likely voters say they like the American […]
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Citizens want their leaders to make climate a higher priority, new poll finds
Here’s one thing citizens of the United States, Iraq, and the Palestinian territories have in common: According to a new 19-country public opinion poll on climate change, they’re the least likely to want more action on the issue from their governments. American citizens showed the least interest of all the countries in response to this […]
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What can we learn from polls on cap-and-trade?
A new Washington Post-ABC poll reveals that majorities of the American people believe in climate change, are concerned about it, are willing to change their lifestyles and pay more to address it, and want the federal government to regulate greenhouse gases. (Sorry, Newt!) They are, however, ambivalent on cap-and-trade. It’s worth perusing the results, but […]
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Americans ranked as world’s least green consumers — again
National Geographic GreendexWith NatGeo releasing the results of its annual Greendex survey today, I’d like to point out that polls like this are really an opportunity for America to shine. Take, for example, the question about public transit: Not only did we score the lowest percentage on public transit use every day, but we also […]
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The environmental inverted pyramid, corrected
538.com’s Nate Silver noted that a recent survey from the Yale Project on Climate Change and the George Mason University Center for Climate Change Communication “reveals part of the problem that advocates of more aggressive measures to curb climate change may be encountering as they seek to push forward initiatives like cap-and-trade”: The survey, conducted […]
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Major survey finds overwhelming public support for action on global warming and clean energy
Yale and George Mason Universities surveyed 2,164 Americans last fall about their “climate change beliefs, attitudes, policy preferences, and actions.” Details will be posted at midnight Tuesday here. Here is a first look: 92 percent supported more funding for research on renewable energy sources, such as solar and wind power; 85 percent supported tax rebates […]
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Americans care about global warming, but don’t see how it connects to other environmental problems
A new poll shows that Americans do care about global warming, but don’t seem to realize how prevalent it really is. This week Gallup released data from its latest poll on global warming indicating that more Americans — 41 percent, the highest number since 1998 — believe that global warming is exaggerated. This sounds like […]
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Understanding polling in terms of core vs. general public
Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it's the only thing that ever has. -- Margaret Mead (1901-1978)
Almost every environmental organization uses this quote at some point. Mead's organizing truth is comforting to those laboring in the activist vineyards, but it is almost precisely opposite the actual approach we have taken, which would more appropriately be written ...
It goes without saying that a small group of thoughtful, committed program officers and professional staff can mold public opinion and shift voting patterns, which should change the world. Indeed, it's the only thing liberals have ever been known to do.
Recent polls show an abrupt decline in public support for environmentalism and concern about global warming, which undercuts the two central assumptions of US environmentalist strategy:
- our main audience is the general public, to whom we must present a watered down climate story, and
- our natural base of support is liberal Democrats.
Public support for protecting the environment, according to the recent Pew Center for People & the Press poll fell "precipitously," from 56 to 41 percent in one year, while global warming continued its downward slide, from 38 percent in 2007 to 35 percent in 2008 and 30 percent this year.
Most striking, support for environmental protection by liberal Democrats dropped 17 percent, from 74 to 57 percent, roughly the same rate as Republicans, down 19 percent, and independents, at 15 percent, and significantly higher than the 9 percent drop among moderate Democrats.
