Red and blue politics shade voters' views of green issues.

That's the result of a new Pew study released last week, which confirmed that while Democrats and Republicans generally agree on many science issues – including food safety, space travel and medicine – they sharply diverge when it comes to climate change and energy policy – even when controlled for differences in age and race.

"Strong political differences among adults affect their views on climate and energy policy topics," the study said.



Political ideology heavily affects how voters see a range of climate-related issues.

Courtesy Pew Research Center

More than 70 percent of Democrat-leaning voters, for example, say human activity is driving global warming – a fact overwhelmingly supported by scientific study. Among Republican-leaning voters, by contrast, just 27 percent believe climate change is being driven by human-generated carbon emissions instead of natural forces.

Similarly, Democrats are far more likely to back policies that support clean energy sources like wind and solar over conventional sources like oil, gas and coal. Three quarters of Democratic and Democratic-leaning voters say the U.S. should prioritized renewable energy, whereas only 43 percent of Republican and Republican-leaning voters say the same.



The gaps are also generational: Older Americans more strongly support nuclear power and offshore oil drilling than younger voters.

"There are notable issues on which racial and generational differences are pronounced," the study found. Overall, "Americans' political leanings are a strong factor in their views about issues such as climate change and energy policy."



Republicans and Democrats sharply disagree whether climate change is being driven by human activity – a fact overwhelmingly supported by science.

Courtesy Pew Research Center