According to a new survey by the Yale Project on Climate Change Communication, Americans are finally coming around, with roughly 70% saying that global warming should be a priority issue for President Obama and Congress. In a national survey from April, 87% also said that the government should be making clean energy development a priority.
70% of the group polled think global warming is worth being a “medium†priority, while 28% say a low priority. 70% support funding going toward additional research for clean energy.
Not only that, but more than half of Americans (61%) think fossil fuel companies should be issued a carbon tax to help reduce the national deficit. 71% also support tax rebates for energy-efficient vehicles and solar panel purchases.
Perhaps the most significant number in all this is the fact that half of the Americans polled had never even heard of the controversial Keystone XL pipeline, which President Obama has been decidedly silent about. Of course it’s great news that the population is coming around on climate change and supporting clean energy initiatives, but this goes to show what happens when the mainstream media rarely covers issues that could make or break the way we approach environmental issues in the United States.
Now that the world has surpassed a CO2 level of 400 parts per million in the Earth’s atmosphere, we really do need more fervent public support for clean energy initiatives, and people putting pressure on political leaders to make some serious changes. If we’re lucky, it won’t be long before climate change is no longer a polarizing political issue in the second largest carbon emitting nation in the world. Dream big!
Image credit:Â publicphoto.org
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