Majority of red-state Americans
believe climate change is real, study shows
Study suggests far-reaching
acceptance of climate change in traditionally Republican states such as Texas and Oklahoma
A vast majority of red-state
Americans believe climate change is real and at least two-thirds of those want
the government to cut greenhouse gas emissions, new research revealed on
Wednesday.
The research, by Stanford University
social psychologist Jon Krosnick, confounds the conventional wisdom of climate
denial as a central pillar of Republican politics, and practically an article
of faith for Tea Party conservatives.
Instead, the findings suggest
far-reaching acceptance that climate change is indeed occurring and is caused
by human activities, even in such reliably red states as Texas
and Oklahoma.
“To me, the most striking finding
that is new today was that we could not find a single state in the country
where climate scepticism was in the majority,” Krosnick said in an interview.
States that voted for Barack
Obama, as expected, also believe climate change is occurring and support curbs
on carbon pollution. Some 88% of Massachusetts
residents believe climate change is real.
But Texas
and Oklahoma
are among the reddest of red states and are represented in Congress by
Republicans who regularly dismiss the existence of climate change or its
attendant risks.
Congressman Joe Barton of Texas and Senator Jim Inhofe of Oklahoma stand out for their regular denials
of climate change as a “hoax”, even
among Republican ranks.
However, the research found 87% of
Oklahomans and 84% of Texans accepted that climate change was occurring.
Seventy-six percent of Americans
in both states also believed the government should step in to limit greenhouse
gas emissions produced by industry.
In addition, the research
indicated substantial support for Obama's decision to use the Environmental Protection Agency to cut
emissions from power plants. The polling found at least 62% of Americans in
favour of action cutting greenhouse gas emissions from plants.
Once again, Texas was also solidly lined up with action,
with 79% of voters supporting regulation of power plants.
The acceptance of climate change
was not a result of outreach efforts by scientists, however, or by the
experience of extreme events, such as hurricane Sandy, Krosnick said.
His research found no connection
between Sandy
and belief in climate change or support for climate action.
Instead, he said the findings
suggest personal experiences of hot weather – especially in warm states in the
south-west – persuaded Texans and others that the climate was indeed changing
within their own lifetimes.
“Their experience with weather
leaves people in most places on the green side in most of the questions we
ask,” he said.
There was some small slippage in
acceptance of climate change in north-western states such as Idaho
and Utah and in the industrial heartland
states of Ohio.
But even then at a minimum, 75% believed climate change was occurring.
The findings, represented in a
series of maps, were presented at a meeting of the bicameral task force on
climate change which has been pushing Congress to try to move ahead on Obama's
green commitments. There was insufficient data to provide findings from a small
number of states
Henry Waxman, the Democrat who
co-chairs the taskforce, said in a statement the findings showed Americans were
ready to take action to cut emissions that cause climate change.
“This new report is crystal
clear,” said Waxman. “It shows that the vast majority of Americans – whether
from red states or blue – understand that climate change is a growing danger.
Americans recognise that we have a moral obligation to protect the environment
and an economic opportunity to develop the clean energy technologies of the
future. Americans are way ahead of Congress in listening to the scientists.”
Some 58% of Republicans in the
current Congress deny the existence of climate change or oppose action to cut
greenhouse gas emissions, according to an analysis by the Center for American Progress.
Stanford
University
Brook
H. Byers is a trustee at Stanford University,
and a partner at Kleiner Perkins
Caufield & Byers.
Note: John L. Hennessy is
the president, trustee for Stanford University,
and an investor in Kleiner Perkins
Caufield & Byers.
Kleiner
Perkins Caufield & Byers was a donor for The Climate Project.
The Climate
Project and the Climate Reality
Project have merged.
Albert
A. Gore Jr. was a donor for The
Climate Project, is a partner at Kleiner
Perkins Caufield & Byers, and the chairman for the Climate Reality Project.
Carol M. Browner
was a director at the Climate Reality
Project, an administrator for the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the energy czar for the Barack Obama administration, and is a senior
fellow, director for the Center for
American Progress.
Foundation
to Promote Open Society was a funder for the Climate Reality Project, and the Center for American Progress.
George
Soros is the chairman for the Foundation
to Promote Open Society, the founder & chairman for the Open Society Foundations, and was a
supporter for the Center for American
Progress.
Open
Society Foundations was a funder for the Center for American Progress, and the Atlantic Council of the United
States (think tank).
Thomas
F. Steyer is a director at the Center
for American Progress, and a trustee at Stanford University.
Condoleezza Rice is a director at the Atlantic Council of the United States (think tank), a political
science professor at Stanford University,
and a 2008 Bilderberg conference participant (think tank).
William
J. Perry is a director at the Atlantic
Council of the United States
(think tank), and a professor at Stanford University.
Colin
L. Powell is a director at the Atlantic
Council of the United States
(think tank), and a strategic limited partner at Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers.
John
L. Hennessy is an investor in Kleiner
Perkins Caufield & Byers, and the
president, trustee for Stanford University.
Brook
H. Byers is a trustee at Stanford University,
and a partner at Kleiner Perkins
Caufield & Byers.
Kleiner
Perkins Caufield & Byers was a donor for The Climate Project.
The Climate
Project and the Climate Reality
Project have merged.
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