Americans Are Still Unwilling To Accept Global Climate Change Is Caused By Human Activity

The chart above might give those of us some hope that the seriousness of global climate change (commonly called "global warming") is finally beginning to sink in to the American public. It shows that 63% of the public believes the effect is real, and believes it is a serious problem. But believing it is a problem, and being willing to do something about it (or believing something can be done about it) are two different things -- and that is the problem with the American public.

It turns out that the public still has not accepted the fact that global climate change is caused by human activity (specifically the overuse of fossil fuels that cause a build-up of CO2 -- a greenhouse gas). As you can see from the chart below, while more people now believe it is due to human activity rather than to a naturally-occurring planetary trend, those accepting it is due to human activity still do not make up a majority of the public (with the high point being 48% in July of 2012). Currently it rests at 44%.

That's not good enough. Until a significant majority of Americans admit global climate change is caused by human activity, the government will not do anything about it. There is too much pressure from the polluting corporations for Congress to act without significant pressure from the general public.

It's starting to look like greed is going to win out over common sense -- and that we are going to be the first generation to leave those who come after us with a worse world than the one we inherited.

These charts were made from information contained in Rasmussen Polls -- the latest one being conducted on February 18th and 19th of 1,000 nationwide likely voters, with a margin of error of 3 points.