Americans Believe Global Warming is Happening – to Everyone But Them

People are finally beginning to wake up to the realities of global warming – to a degree. Despite a majority conceding that climate change is a real threat, only 32% of Americans believe that global warming will impact them personally.  That’s not too surprising, considering how insulated Americans tend to be, but it’s distressing because it means they’re less likely to be motivated to act.

From Treehugger:

A survey of 2,164 adults by George Mason University and the Yale Project on Climate Change discovered some of the distressing ways in which we humans just can’t see to think very long term: just 32 percent of the Americans surveyed believe global warming will personally harm them “a great deal” or a “moderate amount.” Contrast that with the same group’s opinion on the rest of the animal kingdom: nearly twice the number of respondents, or 62% believed that plant and animal species would be harmed by climate change. In fact, as the graphic shows, people somewhat ironically believed that everyone around them – their families, communities, and countries – will be more in harm’s way than they themselves. How’s that for optimistic, (perhaps even magical?) thinking?

The George Mason and Yale University researchers believe their survey points out that Americans’ believe in the reality of global warming (Sarah Palin notwithstanding) is growing – that we as a majority, think it is happening, is human caused, and is a serious threat. A rising number, the researchers said, also believe the United States should do something. Conversely, less than half believe that a cap-and-trade carbon system is what we should do. And, hidden among the data sets was a statistic pointing to ongoing erosion of the public trust: only 47% of those polled trust mainstream news media to deliver reliable global warming information, while 48% trust religious leaders to do so!

First of all, people seem to forget that humans are animals. We rely on our natural surroundings as much as the rest of the species on the planet. We need clean air and water, reliable sources of food and relatively stable weather in order to survive. Global warming threatens all of those things. Certainly, we are sentient beings with higher intellect – but are we using it right now? Really.

As for the fact that 48% of Americans trust their religious leaders to provide reliable global warming information, all I can say is:

Link [Treehugger]
Photo credit: funnyphotos.net.au

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