Americans care about global warming, but don't see how it connects to other environmental problems

[marmar]

from Grist magazine's Gristmill blog:





Polling my leg
Americans care about global warming, but don't see how it connects to other environmental problems

Posted by Meredith Niles (Guest Contributor) at 6:47 PM on 14 Mar 2009



A new poll shows that Americans do care about global warming, but don't seem to realize how prevalent it really is.

This week Gallup released data from its latest poll on global warming indicating that more Americans -- 41 percent, the highest number since 1998 -- believe that global warming is exaggerated. This sounds like cause for concern similar to what I wrote about back in January when polls indicated more Americans believe global warming is caused by planetary trends than humans. But in fact, the data on this poll isn't as cut and dry as some of the media wants to insinuate. While the poll did find a slight decrease in the number of Americans who are a "fair amount" or "great deal" concerned about global warming, 60 percent of Americans still identify themselves this way.

The irony in the way the story was reported is that the poll shows the majority of Americans believe the seriousness of global warming is accurately portrayed by the media. Yet, some stories went on to report the story as, "Americans doubting global warming." It indicates yet another instance in which the media spun the story of global warming in a confusing and misleading way. What would the effect have been if the story read, "Majority of Americans believe seriousness of global warming is accurate." Perhaps the increased American confusion and doubt about global warming is simply a byproduct of misconstrued media messages marked by sensationalist titles. ........(more)

The complete piece is at: http://gristmill.grist.org/story/2009/3/12/11157/7998