Politics: Opinion Poll Finds Public Still Divided on Global Warming

A market research report conducted by Vizu Corporation and Green Home Inc. has confirmed that people are convinced the global warming phenomenon exists (70%) and is important (74%). However, the public remains unsure of the cause of global warming, and is debating whether the culprit is human behavior (26%), natural climate cycles (26%) or some combination of the two (25%).

Polling indicates a growing divide in how the pubic responds to global warming. Nearly a third indicated they will not change their behavior while almost 20% are doing everything they can. Whether they are realists or cynics, 61% expect the topic to fade with the next major media story.

"Those of us on the environmental forefront know that we're making remarkable progress toward becoming more responsible, more sustainable, and more conscious," said Lawrence Axil Comras, president of Green Home, Inc. "However, this survey shows how much farther we have to go to reach the general public. The consequences are so great, yet the solutions can be so simple on a person-to-person basis. We clearly have to reach those people."

The general public did seem to become more educated recently, as former Vice President Al Gore achieved celebrity status while stumping for his global warming documentary, An Inconvenient Truth. Though despite widespread coverage, including appearances at the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards, respondents split almost evenly on whether they were influenced by Mr. Gore or the environmental movie. Roughly 45% said neither the film nor Mr. Gore affected their position at all.

The Spanish speaking audience is far more convinced that global warming is happening (89%), is caused by humans (48%), and is critical of the United States' response to global warming (85%).

Polling for the report was conducted via the Vizu Answers research network from February 27 to March 3, 2007. A subset of questions was also conducted in Spanish before a Spanish speaking audience with a predominantly international, non-U.S. reach.

©Copyright 2007 by AlternativeApproaches.com