Americans still do not fear Climate Change enough

July 2, 2007 · Filed Under climate change, news 

A report in The Independent yesterday by Leonard Doyle said:

“US public opinion is rapidly waking up to the threat posed by global warming, despite the best efforts of the Bush Administration and much of industry to deny the problem.

“There has been a double digit increase in the proportion of Americans who say environmental problems are a major global threat -from 23% to 37%, according to a comprehensive survey published this week by the Pew Centre in Washington.

“The environment is increasingly in the news in the US, thanks to violent and unusual weather patterns – mainly floods and severe drought, combined with the rising cost of petrol. More than a foot of rain fell across central Texas and Oklahoma yesterday, with more storms predicted.

“Hardly a day passes without a report being issued pointing to new environmental threats. A study released yesterday revealed how much damage Alaska, which is currently experiencing forest fires, would suffer from higher temperatures, melting permafrost, reduced polar ice and increased flooding.

“The Pew survey bears out the fact that concern about the environment is still sharply lower in the US than in any other advanced industrial country, with the exception of the UK. In every other Western European country large majorities view global warming as a serious problem, ranging from 57% in Italy to 70% in Spain.

“The survey of some 10,000 people worldwide by the Pew Global Attitudes Project found that public opinion in Britain mirrors the US view. In the UK, less then half (45%) say it is very serious while another 37% rate it as a somewhat serious concern.

“The survey found that the Chinese are far more likely than Americans to cite environmental problems as a major global danger (70% against 37%).”

In my opinion the most surprising and encouraging finding of this survey is surely the high level of concern in China. Spain’s high score is most likely because it may soon have a North African climate, and the kindest thing we can say about the US result is that the people have been misled by their government.

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