NEW YORK (AlertNet)—The number of Americans who say there is solid evidence of global warming has risen slightly over the last two years, but their numbers are still substantially fewer than they were between 2006 and 2008, according to a report by the Pew Research Center.
Pew’s survey, released Dec. 1, indicates 63 percent of Americans believe the earth’s average temperature has warmed during the last few decades, compared with 57 percent in 2009. However, more than 70 percent of Americans believed there was solid evidence of global warming in the 2006-2008 period.
The number of Americans who consider global warming a very serious problem has also declined since 2006. Currently, 38 percent believe it is a very serious problem compared with 45 percent in 2007.
Pew’s survey indicates the existence of a continuing partisan gap in opinions about global warming, with 77 percent of Democrats and 63 percent of independents agreeing that the earth is warming, while only 43 percent of Republicans believe the same.
The divide extends to the reasons for global warming with 51 percent of Democrats and 40 percent of independents attributing the cause to human activity, but just 19 percent of Republicans agreeing with that.
Read the full Pew Research Report here
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