Effect of Global Warming Most Americans think global warming poses a critical threat — in the future, for other people. A majority said it will be a very serious problem for the future of the world, but fewer described it as very serious for the United States. If nothing is done to reduce global warming in the future, how serious of a problem do you think it will be for the United States? If nothing is done to reduce global warming in the future, how serious of a problem do you think it will be for the world? How much do you think global warming has hurt you personally? How much do you think global warming has helped you personally? If nothing is done to reduce global warming in the future, how much do you think it will hurt you personally? If nothing is done to reduce global warming in the future, how much do you think it will help you personally? If nothing is done to reduce global warming in the future, how much do you think it will hurt future generations? If nothing is done to reduce global warming in the future, how much do you think it will help future generations? Would the United States doing things to reduce global warming in the future hurt the economy, help, or have no effect?

Possible Issue Statements Respondents were given statements that could be made by someone who wants to be a United States Senator or President of the United States. The poll suggests more support for a candidate that advocates action to reduce global warming, while a candidate who denies the existence of the problem would be viewed unfavorably, particularly by Democrats and independents. If a candidate says this, would you be more likely to vote for the candidate, less likely, or would it have no effect? “I believe that global warming has been happening for the past 100 years, mainly because we have been burning fossil fuels and putting out greenhouse gasses. Now is the time for us to be using new forms of energy that are made in America and will be renewable forever. We can manufacture better cars that use less gasoline and build better appliances that use less electricity. We need to transform the outdated ways of generating energy into new ones that create jobs and entire industries, and stop the damage we’ve been doing to the environment.” “The science on global warming is a hoax and is an attempt to perpetrate a fraud on the American people. I don’t buy into the whole man-caused global warming mantra. We must spend no effort to deal with something that is not a problem at all. We should not invest in windmills and solar panels as alternative energy sources. Instead we should continue to focus on our traditional sources of energy: coal, oil and natural gas. We should expand energy production in our country, including continuing to mine our coal and doing more drilling for oil here at home.” “When people ask me if I believe global warming has been happening, I’m not qualified to debate the science over climate change, because I am not a scientist. When people ask me if I believe human activity causes global warming, I don’t know. There is significant scientific dispute about that. We can debate this forever. I am not qualified to make this decision. But I am astute enough to understand that every proposal to deal with climate change involves hurting our economy and killing American jobs.”





Obama and Global Warming Although President Obama released an action plan for dealing with climate change in 2013 and in November made a deal with China to reduce emissions, most people do not think he has been doing more on global warming lately. Did President Obama do more about global warming during the past year than during the two years before that, less, or about the same amount? How important should global warming be to President Obama? How important is global warming to President Obama?

Congress and Global Warming Few think Congress has done much for global warming lately or find members of Congress trustworthy on the subject. Did the United States Congress do more about global warming during the past year than during the two years before that, less, or about the same amount? How much do you trust the things that Democrats in Congress say about global warming? How important should global warming be to Democrats in Congress? How important is global warming to Democrats in Congress? How much do you trust the things that Republicans in Congress say about global warming? How important should global warming be to Republicans in Congress? How important is global warming to Republicans in Congress?