18 to 29...............67%
30 to 49...............68%
50 to 64...............70%
over 65...............62%
That's good news, right? Surely, with more than two-thirds of all Americans now believing in global warming, our government will now act to curb the use of fossil fuels and reduce the amount of greenhouse gases in our atmosphere. Well, NO! I wish it was that simple. The sad fact is that there is another number that will impede that -- the number of people that believe that warming is caused by and can be cured by humans (see bottom chart above).
While two-thirds of Americans now believe in global warming, less than half of Americans believe that warming was caused by human activity (only 42%). And this failure to believe in a human cause cuts across all age levels:
18 to 29...............47%
30 to 49...............47%
50 to 64...............41%
over 65...............28%
As you can see from those numbers, more than half of all Americans are still buying into the corporate propaganda that says the world's scientists disagree about the cause of global warming. Of course, that is a lie. Over 95% of the world's scientists believe global warming is real and has been caused by human activity (and that figure jumps up to over 98% when only climate scientists are asked). But that message is not getting through to most people.
And nothing will be done until that message does get through to a large percentage of Americans. Politicians have shown that they will not lead in this serious matter. They get too much campaign money and other perks from the corporations (especially the energy, oil, gas, and coal corporations) to provide leadership. The politicians are going to have to be dragged kicking and screaming by the people before they will do anything to save the planet.
Maybe I'm being too generous to most Americans. Maybe they haven't been fooled by the corporate propaganda. Maybe they are just happy with the fossil fuel consuming lives that they lead, and don't give a damn about future generations. Maybe they just think today's profits and comforts are more important than leaving a habitable planet for children and grandchildren. I hope that is not the case, because then there would be no hope of stopping global warming before it reaches a fast-approaching tipping point (beyond which action will do little or no good).
Are we just a stupid generation that can't see through the corporate lies? Or are we just a generation that doesn't care what kind of world we leave for those who come after us? Does that even matter? Either way, we are dooming our planet. If we don't do something soon, life will be much harder for future generations (if they can survive at all in the world left to them).
This is the only planet we have. Why are we trying so hard to make it uninhabitable?
There has been virtually no warming for the last 14 years and until the sun begins again to suffer with acne you can expect things to get a lot cooler. Also, I would remind you that by and large, warm is Good and cold is Bad!
ReplyDeleteDD:
ReplyDelete"no warming for the last 14 years"
Wrong. The rate of increase has slowed, but the warming continues. Worldwide, 2010 and 2005 are tied for the warmest years recorded. Again worldwide, the decade 2001-2010 was the warmest ever recorded; it broke the record set by the '90s which broke the record set by the '80s.
"you can expect things to get a lot cooler"
Solar irradiance has declined since 1995 but, again, the warming continues. The claim that "it's all the Sun" has been demolished by direct observation.
"warm is Good and cold is Bad"
Try telling that to someone who just burned their hand on the stove - or who just had a family member die in a heat wave.