Anthony Leiserowitz of Yale is out with new polling data on the public and climate, including asking a question that hasn’t been asked before: “To the best of your knowledge, what proportion of climate scientists think that global warming is caused mostly by human activities?” Here are the (dismal) results:
81 to 100 % (of climate scientists) — 15 % (of Americans)
61 to 80 % — 18 %
41 to 60 % — 18 %
21 to 40 % — 12 %
0 to 20 % — 7 %
Don’t know enough to say — 32 %
In other words, Americans are all over the map on this question, with no idea as to the strength of the scientific consensus. Or to put it another way–the vast majority of the public is either giving the wrong answer, or doesn’t know the answer.
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