Most Americans Are Worried About The Environment (The GOP Is Not)

 

The charts above are from the Gallup Poll -- done between March 2nd and 18th of a nationwide sample of 1,000 adults, with a 4 point margin of error.

Republicans Still Out-Of-Step With Most On Environment

 The charts above are from the Gallup Poll -- done between March 1st and 23rd of a nationwide sample of 1,009 adults, with a 4 point margin of error.

Environment Vs. Economy

The charts above are from the Gallup Poll -- done between March 1st and 23rd of a nationwide sample of 1,009 adults, with a 4 point margin of error.

59% Of Public Says Environmental Quality Is Getting Worse

 

The charts above are from a Gallup Poll - done between March 1st and 18th of a nationwide sample of 1,017 adults, with a 4 point margin of error.

It shows that only 39% of the public thinks U.S. environmental quality is good, and a whopping 59% say it's getting worse.

5 Ways Trump Damaged The Environment In 2019

(This caricature of Donald Trump is by the inimitable DonkeyHotey.)

Donald Trump brags about the environmental record of his administration. He wants people to believe he is not damaging the environment. He is LYING!

Here, from Emma Newburger at cnbc.com, are five ways in which Trump seriously damaged our environment in 2019:

1. Regulations on methane leaks to be rolled back

The Trump administration in August announced plans to significantly weaken regulation on climate-changing methane emissions. If adopted, the government would no longer have to require oil and gas companies to implement technology to monitor and fix methane leaks from facilities and pipelines. The rule would also open debate on whether the Environmental Protection Agency can regulate methane as a pollutant.

Methane is dangerous because large amounts of it is escaping from oil and gas sites across the country and accelerating global warming. Methane levels have soared since 2007, with natural gas production as a primary suspect.

2. Repealing the Obama-era clean water rule

The EPA in September repealed a major Obama-era clean water regulation that curbed the amount of pollution and chemicals in the country’s rivers, lakes, streams and wetlands.

The repeal allows polluters to discharge toxic substances into waterways without a permit, which could significantly harm the country’s sources of safe drinking water and habitats for wildlife. The Obama-era rule had aimed to protect 60% of the country’s water bodies from contamination and keep drinking water safe for about one-third of the country.

3. Weakening the Endangered Species Act

The Trump administration said in August it would change the rules for the Endangered Species Act, making it harder to protect wildlife from threats of human development and global warming.

The new rules make it easier to take out protections for threatened animals and plants and allow federal agencies to conduct economic assessments when deciding whether to protect a species from things like construction projects in a critical habitat. The rules also remove tools used by scientists to predict future harm to species from climate change.

4. Weakening climate plan to help coal plants stay open

The Trump administration in June implemented a rule that will keep coal-powered plants open longer, replacing an Obama-era climate effort to reduce planet-warming carbon dioxide emissions and continuing the administration’s efforts to ease regulatory burdens for the coal industry.

The so-called Affordable Clean Energy rule gives states more power to decide how to control emissions and less authority to the federal government in setting emissions standards. One of the administration’s goals is to allow coal power plants a chance to remain in business despite the rise in other forms of energy generation such as natural gas and solar.

5. Loosening Obama-era rules restricting auto pollution

The White House this year also prepared to eliminate an Obama-era regulation in place to reduce automobile emissions that contribute to global warming. The administration argues that the rollback is necessary for economic and safety reasons, though environmentalists say consumers would spend billions more in fuel costs and accelerate climate change.

Trump's Next Target Is Our Country's Endangered Species

(Photo of the Bald Eagle, from PBS NewsHour, is by Bob Strong/Reuters.)

Beyond his own ego, there's only one thing Donald Trump believes in -- helping the corporations and the rich to make obscene profits. And he doesn't really care who is hurt in the process.

He has gutted our environmental laws (put in place to protect our land, water, and air for the good of all citizens) so corporations don't have to spend money protecting the environment or clean up after they pollute.

Now he is attacking another area, so corporations can make more money without considering their impact on the environment -- the Endangered Species Act. This act has been remarkably effective in protecting wildlife facing extinction -- including our national symbol, the Bald Eagle.

Trump doesn't care. Obscene corporate profits are more important than endangered species to him.

Here's part of an excellent op-ed on Trump's latest misadventure by ecologist Dr. Carl Safina in The New York Times:

Some 1,650 species of animals and plants in the United States are listed under federal law as endangered or threatened. But when they are reduced to a line item on a list, their multimillion-year existences and roles in the complex living communities that include humans become invisible. Each minor species, whispering its testimony quietly from its corner, cannot make the larger class-action case, which is that, everywhere, trouble finds them.

Now there’s more trouble. Until now, the principal existential threats to free-living species have included urbanization, expanding intensive agriculture, pesticides, plastics, river pollution, dams, invasive species and the three “overs”: overcutting, overhunting, overfishing. Now we can add to that list President Trump, his administration and complicit Republicans in Congress.

The Trump administration has announced new rules that will significantly weaken the way the nation’s Endangered Species Actis applied, potentially opening the way for mining, oil and gas drilling and development that will undermine or doom components of our nation’s living endowment. The rules affect future listings and threaten to throw into reverse the enormous success over nearly 50 years of saving animals and plants from extinction and elevating their prospects.

Unable to kill or neuter the act legislatively because of strong support for the law even in the Republican-held Congress of the first two years of his presidency, Mr. Trump now is eviscerating it by gutting regulations that make it effective. Perhaps most crucially, the rule diminishes “critical habitat” protections, like those for areas formerly occupied by now-endangered species, though such habitat is the only hope many depleted species have for eventual recovery. The rule is intended to impede the listing process and ignore declining habitat viability caused by climate change. And for the first time, a tally of financial considerations will accompany discussions on the fate of species. . . .

It used to be that animals did not need us. Now they do. Unless we value their existence, the modern tide will engulf and obliterate them. Their survival — like our great-grandchildren’s — is a moral matter. No religion has ever preached that our role on earth is to destroy, or to leave less for those who’ll come after us. No wisdomtradition teaches that it’s O.K. for a generation to drive the world toward ruin. We are taught instead that we must safely pilot the ark.

The tragedy of this situation is that the Endangered Species Act has been such an enormous success in the United States that it is the model for other countries around the world.

Some turnarounds have been triumphs for large, much-loved species. Almost 80 percent of marine mammals and 75 percent of sea turtles that attained protection under the law have increased significantly. The California condor, the largest bird in North America, was so close to extinction in the 1980s that the remaining 20 or so in the wild were captured and bred for release. The program’s 1,000th condor chick recently hatched, and there are now some 230 free-flying birds in California, Arizona and Baja California. Bald eagles rocketed back from a DDT-devastated low of roughly 400 breeding pairs in the lower 48 states in the early 1960s to some 14,000 breeding pairs and 70,000 bald eagles of all ages south of Canada today. Now a common winter sight on the lower Hudson River within view of Manhattan, they’ve been off the list since 2007.

Other recoveries enabled by the law have been so spectacular that it’s hard to imagine certain species as rare. These include brown pelicans, which increased by more than 700 percent in 40 years, and the American alligator, listed as endangered in 1967 and off the list by 1987. . . .

And because of the Endangered Species Act, the United States has made possible much wildlife recovery work abroad, including sea turtle nesting protections that I’ve witnessed from the Caribbean to Indonesia, and many other projects.

The things that threaten other species, threaten us. How could they not? Degradation of land, exhaustion of soil, sickening pollution of our water and air — when species become endangered it is because deeply systemic threats have become symptomatic. . . .

For exerting our collective love of nature to protect and maintain plants and animals on the brink no more important or effective mechanism exists than the United States’ Endangered Species Act, which the Trump administration now seeks to torpedo. President Richard M. Nixon signed the law in 1973, saying: “Nothing is more priceless and more worthy of preservation than the rich array of animal life with which our country has been blessed.”

Blessed, indeed. “America the beautiful” is our nation’s expression of moral gratitude for the most fortunate thing that unites our country from sea to shining sea. The Endangered Species Act is our legal recognition of the stewardship responsibilities of our dominion. To take it apart is to contribute to the thanklessness — one might say contempt — for what has made our nation great.

Trump Claims U.S. Has World's Cleanest Environment (A LIE)

While visiting London, Donald Trump told Prince Charles that the United States had the world's cleanest climate. Of course, it was just another of Trump's thousands of lies. He either doesn't know the truth about the U.S. environment, or doesn't care -- probably both.

The truth is that Trump has been one of the worst environmental presidents this country has ever had. He, and his cabinet appointees, have eliminated regulations that previous presidents put in place to protect the environment. For him, the bottom line for his corporate buddies is far more important that worrying about the environment. And thanks to Trump administration actions, many other countries, especially developed nations, are doing a better job protecting their environment than the United States is doing.

The chart above is the Environmental Performance Index of countries. Yale University, Columbia University, and the World Economic Forum, in a collaborative effort developed this index. They studied 180 different countries in 10 broad economic categories, and gave each a rating of from 0 to 100. The average of those 10 categories was used to develop the overall Environmental Performance Index (shown in the chart above). Note that 26 other countries are doing better than the United States. The United States is ranked 27th with a score of 71.19.

Here are the United States rank and score in each of the 10 categories:

Water and sanitation (29th).....90.92
Air quality (10th).....97.52
Heavy Metals (54th).....64.99
Biodiversity and habitat (103rd).....70.93
Forests (115th).....8.84
Fisheries (67th).....57.58
Climate and energy (114th).....45.81
Air pollution (83rd).....50.46
Water resources (39th).....92.57
Agriculture (2nd).....72.38

This is not good! But it doesn't have to be this way. The United States is still the richest nation in the world. It has the ability to do much better. The problem is a president and Congress (mainly Republicans) who value money more than the environment or the health of citizens.

Trump/GOP Are At Odds With Public On The Environment

In honor of Earth Day (yesterday), the Gallup Poll released a recent poll they did on climate change and the environment. Between March 1st and 10th, they questioned a national sample of 1,039 adults. Their survey had a margin of error of 4 points.

This is a poll that should worry Republican officials across the country. It shows that while the Republicans are happily following Trump as he ignores global climate change and does away with EPA rules to protect the environment, they are at odds with what the public wants. The Republicans think the corporate bottom line is more important than protecting the environment. The public disagrees. They worry about the environment.

In every region of this country, a substantial majority worries about global warming (global climate change) -- Northeast (72%), West (67%), Midwest (62%), South (61%). And with majorities ranging from 53% to 67%, they believe that warming has already begun.

And it's not just global warming that worries them. The loss of tropical rain forests (64% to 73%), air pollution (73% to 80%), extinction of plants and animals (67% to 74%), pollution of rivers, lakes, and reservoirs (80% to 85%), and pollution of drinking water (80% to 84%) are also worrying them. And 53% to 62% said the environment in this country is only fair to poor.

This means global warming and protecting the environment would be very good issues for Democrats in the next election -- and could hurt Republicans seeking election.

Why Are The Republicans Such Big Climate Change Deniers?

The charts above reflect information in a new Economist / YouGov Poll -- done between April 15th and 17th of a random national sample of 1,500 adults, with a margin of error of 3.1 points.

It shows that the American public has substantial majorities believing global climate change (commonly called global warming) is real and is caused by human activity (59%), are concerned about that change (63%), believe there is a consensus among scientists on it (57%), and believe it will  effect them in their lifetimes (55%).  Those are some fairly impressive numbers, and it has been that way for many months now.

That brings me to my question -- Why does the Republican Party officials continue to deny global warming is happening or is caused by human activity? One might think that, with the electoral wave building against them, they should want to be seen as being on the side of the public majority -- but they aren't, and show no sign of changing.

We can get a clue from the tax plan they passed a few months ago. While claiming they were passing a plan that would help all Americans, they actually approved a plan that gave about 82% of all benefits to the richest Americans. This is nothing new. The Republicans like to pay lip service to ordinary Americans (especially at election time), but when they act it is to reward the rich and the corporations at the expense of all other Americans.

The same is true on environmental issues (including global climate change). They claim to be protectors of the environment, but all of their actions have been to make the environment dirtier to protect and enhance the profits of corporations (and their rich investors). That's why Trump (with the blessing of congressional Republicans) pulled this country out of the Paris Accord, and why he chose anti-environmentalist Scott Pruitt to head the EPA (with the blessing of Senate Republicans).

The real constituency of the Republican Party's elected officials is the rich (and they corporations controlled by the rich). They have decided that everything must be done to enrich corporations and investors, even if that hurts other Americans, destroys the environment, and leaves our descendants with a much less inhabitable world.

It is just one reason, among many, why the Republicans must be voted out of power in November.

Public Disagrees With Trump/Pruitt On The Environment

These charts are from a new Gallup Poll -- done between March 1st and 8th of a random national sample of 1,041 adults, with a margin of error of 4 points.

There's been a lot in the news lately about the corrupt practices of EPA administrator Scott Pruitt, and he is a very corrupt member of Trump's cabinet. But there is something worse about Pruitt -- the policies he has followed and actions he has taken since becoming the head of the EPA.

Pruitt has been in the pocket of the fossil fuel industry for a long time (even before he came to Washington). That is why Trump chose him. Trump doesn't believe in global warming, and doesn't care about the pollution of our air and water. He only cares about the profit margins of his corporate friends. For him, squeezing another few pennies of profit (out of an already record profit) justifies letting industries destroy our environment.

With Pruitt's help, Trump has already overturned many environmental regulations that protected the air we breath and the water we drink. Industries are now free to pollute the water and air. But this is not what a majority of Americans want. About 62% of the public says the government is doing too little to protect the environment. They want more to be done -- not less.

Trump's excuse is that the environmental rules have been too restrictive on business and hurt economic growth. That old excuse doesn't fly with the public though. A substantial majority (57%) wants tougher environmental laws, even if it does somewhat curb economic growth. Our environment is too precious to be sacrificed for corporate profit.

The crazy thing is that even Half of Republicans would prefer the environment be protected (note the chart below). Trump and Pruitt's actions make make some on Wall Street happy, but not most Americans.

This is just one more reason why Republicans must be denied control of Congress this November -- and Trump must be kicked out of office in 2020 (if not sooner).

Majority Concerned About Environment (1st Time In Decade)

For the first time in about a decade, a majority of the American population says it is not satisfied with the quality of the environment. This probably shouldn't surprise us, since the Trump administration has shown it really doesn't care about the environment.

Trump has pulled this country out of the Paris Accords (which addresses global climate change). He also selected a man to run the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that has a long history of fighting efforts by the EPA to clean the environment. Both Trump and his EPA head (Pruitt) think corporations should have the right to trash the environment in pursuit of more profits.

Adding to this is the selection Trump made to head the Department of the Interior (Zinke) -- a man that joins Trump in giving away public lands to greedy corporations for drilling and mining. The Trump administration has been an unmitigated disaster for the environment.

Fortunately, it looks like the public is finally starting to realize that. About 52% say they are not satisfied with the quality of the environment now, while 45% say they are satisfied. That 45% who are satisfied is the lowest percentage this century. When you break it down by political preference, you find that 69% of Republicans are satisfied while only 45% of Independents and 30% of Democrats are satisfied.

These charts are from a recent Gallup Poll -- done between January 2nd and 7th of a random national sample of 1,024 adults, with a 4 point margin of error.

Majority Of Public Is Opposed To Drilling In The ANWR

One of the things slipped into the new tax law passed by the Republican Congress (and signed by Trump) is a provision that allows drilling for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) in Alaska. But like the tax law as a whole, a majority of Americans don't like this provision that will allow oil companies to desecrate our public land.

Only 35% think it's OK to drill for oil in the ANWR, while 53% say it's the wrong thing to do. Once again, the Republicans have done something the American people don't want. They claim it's to stop the dependence on foreign oil, but the public would rather see that accomplished by increasing the use of clean and renewable resources.

The chart above uses numbers from a recent Rasmussen Poll -- done on December 26th of a random national sample of 1,000 likely voters, with a 3 point margin of error.

Public Opposes Trump's Overturning Of Clean Air Regs

President Obama signed the Paris Accord to reduce global warming, and then issued an executive order that would have reduced carbon dioxide emissions from power plants by 1/3 in the next 13 years. Donald Trump has reversed course for this country. He has withdrawn the U.S. from the Paris Accords and issued orders negating the Clean Air Initiative of President Obama.

But it turns out that, once again, Trump is acting in opposition to the wishes of a majority of Americans. About 56% of the public favors keeping the Obama regulations to cut carbon dioxide emissions by 1/3, while only 33% opposed those regulations. Trump may be making his base happy, but he is hurting himself with the general population.

The chart reflects the result of a new Rasmussen Poll -- done on October 10th and 11th of a random national sample of 1,000 likely voters, with a 3 point margin of error.

Trump / Pruitt Purge The EPA Of All Its Scientists

 (These caricatures of Donald Trump and Scott Pruitt are by DonkeyHotey.)

Donald Trump has said he would protect the environment, but that is just another of his many lies.

We know that because of his withdrawing the U.S. from the Paris Agreement on global warming, his executive orders repealing Obama's clean air and water efforts, and his appointment of Scott Pruitt to head the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) -- a man with a history of opposing EPA actions. While Trump mouths environmental platitudes, it is obvious that what he really wants to do is let corporate polluters off the hook. Now we find that its gotten even worse.

Trump and Pruitt are actively removing all the scientists from the EPA -- those people who tell the truth about pollution and global climate change. They will be replaced with lobbyists and sycophants who mirror Trump's own corporate polluter friendly views.

Here is what Mark Sumner at Daily Kos has written about the purge of scientists:

Scott Pruitt had already moved to replace much of the scientific review boards at the EPA with industry lobbyists. 

The Environmental Protection Agency has dismissed at least five members of a major scientific review board, the latest signal of what critics call a campaign by the Trump administration to shrink the agency’s regulatory reach by reducing the role of academic research.
 

And with that minor test run over, Pruitt has moved on to a wholesale purge of scientists from his supposedly scientific agency.

The Environmental Protection Agency has given notice to dozens of scientists that they will not be renewed in their roles in advising the agency, continuing a scientific shake-up that has already triggered resignations and charges from some researchers that the administration is politicizing the agency.

With climate change data hidden or destroyed, Pruitt directly working to raise funds for Republicans, and actions that go beyond accepting climate change to denying basic science, it’s no doubt inconvenient to have people around who know what the hell they’re doing. So that is being remedied. Pronto. And just in case any of those scientists were thinking about saying something Pruitt wouldn’t like, he made sure that wouldn’t happen—at least not on EPA grounds.

None of the subcommittees will have a chair or vice chair, and all committee meetings scheduled for late summer and fall have been cancelled.

Pruitt’s actions completely wipes out the existing Board of Scientific Counselors. It means the whole board can now be reappointed, filled with industry lobbyists and science deniers, and the EPA can then go forward on the basis that “its scientific advisers” tell it that carbon dioxide is good for plants, only God can change the climate, and Donald Trump is nature’s bestie.

President Trump has directed Mr. Pruitt to radically remake the E.P.A., pushing for deep cuts in its budget — including a 40 percent reduction for its main scientific branch — and instructing him to roll back major Obama-era regulations on climate change and clean water protection. 

No clean water. No clean air. Certainly no scientists.

It seems pretty clear that neither Trump nor Pruitt understand what “protection” means. They certainly don’t understand “environmental.”

Millennials Most Concerned About How Their Actions Affect The Environment of Our Planet

I guess this shouldn't surprise me, since Millennials will be living on this planet longer than Gen Xers or Baby Boomers. But it is kind of disappointing. A healthy 59% of Millennials say they are concerned about how their daily activities affect the environment, while only 29% disagree (see top chart). Members of Generation X are split on the issue (49% to 48%). It is the Baby Boomers that don't seem to care about the environment. Only 39% say they are concerned about how their daily activities affect the environment, while 58% don't really care.

I realize that we Boomers will not be around to see how our actions affect the planet in the future, but that is a poor reason to not really care about it. Shouldn't we care about what kind of planetary environment we leave for future generations (especially since we are the generation that invented Earth Day)?

The second chart shows the planned participation in Earth Day activities (on April 22nd). Once again, it is the Millennials who plan the most participation (48% to 30%), while the Baby Boomers will have the least participation (27% to 51%).

These charts are from a new YouGov Poll done on April 13th and 14th of a random national sample of 1,064 adults.

General Public's Worry About Pollution Is Increasing

Donald Trump doesn't seem to be worried at all about the environment and keeping it clean for everyone. He has put an EPA-hater  in charge of the Environmental Protection Agency, and proposed cutting funding for the agency by around 25%.

This flies in the face of the general public's view on the environment and pollution. About 63% of the public say they worry a great deal about pollution of drinking water -- and 57% say they worry a great deal about the pollution of rivers, lakes, and reservoirs. Those are significant majorities.

In fact, those who worry a great deal has increased each of the last three years regarding all aspects of the environment -- 8 points for pollution of drinking water, 10 points for pollution of rivers & lakes & reservoirs, 9 points for air pollution, 13 points for global climate change, 11 points for loss of tropical rain forests, and 8 points for extinction of animals/plants.

Once again, Trump is following a policy that goes against the wishes of most Americans.

The chart above is from three years of questioning by the Gallup Poll -- the most recent being done between March 1st and 5th of a random national sample of 1,018 adults, with a 4 point margin of error.

Trump's On Track To Be Worst Environmental President Ever

Since becoming president, Donald Trump has virtually declared war on this country's environment (and on the fight to curb global climate change). He put a man in charge of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that doesn't believe in environmental regulations (and who has sued that agency at least 11 times to have regulations curbing fossil fuel pollution removed). Then he put the head of one of the world's largest oil companies (Exxon) in place as Secretary of State -- assuring that this countries global policies will benefit fossil fuel production.

That wasn't bad enough. He then started issuing executive orders. The first ones nullified a regulation that kept surface mining operations from polluting our rivers and streams, and set aside a rule that would have resulted in fossil fuel producers paying more in royalties to the federal government.

Now he has issued a far more sweeping order. The new order lifts a moratorium on coal leasing, and removes the requirement that federal officials consider the impact on climate change when making decisions. This will increase production and use of coal (the dirtiest of the fossil fuels), and allow all fossil fuels producers to increase production without regard to what that does to the environment or to global climate change.

Trump seems determined to trash the environment for the benefit of his buddies who produce fossil fuels. And his actions send a signal to the rest of the world that the United States has no intention of honoring its agreement to curb actions that increase global climate change.

As the charts below show, the United States is the largest user of energy produced by oil and gas, and is second only to China in energy use from coal. But while China is trying to curb its use of coal, Trump is taking this country in the opposite direction.

One has to ask, why should the rest of the world meet their obligations to curb global climate change? And even if they did meet their obligations, would it matter (since the U.S. is by far the largest user of fossil fuels energy)?

The Trump administration is proving to be a real boon for the oil, gas, and coal industries (and other polluters) -- but it is a real disaster for human being (and the planet they live on).

Trump Charts A Path To Trash The Environment

In his speech to Congress on Tuesday, Trump said his administration wants "to promote clean air and clean water". Considering what he has done in his short time in office, I would have to label that as an outrageous lie.

Trump started by nominating an EPA-hater to head that department -- a man who has sued the EPA dozens of times on behalf of the giant oil and gas companies and power producers. He has nominated as Secretary of the Interior a man who favors allowing drilling and mining in our national parks and preserves. He has issued an executive order cancelling President Obama's clean water initiative (which will again let polluters dump their filth in our rivers and streams). And in a few days he has said he will issue another executive order cancelling President Obama's clean air initiative (which required dirty power plants to clean up their act).

Trump is NOT promoting clean air and water. In fact, his actions are sure to make our air and water much dirtier. I would go so far as to say he will go down in history as the president who trashed our environment.

Fortunately, people are not believing his lies. As the chart above shows, more people think the Trump administration will have a negative effect (44%) of the environment than a positive one (32%) -- a substantial 12 point difference.

The chart is from a recent YouGov Poll -- done between February 11th and 13th of a random national sample of 1,000 adults, with a 4 point margin of error.

A Little Good News In Honor Of Earth Day

In honor of Earth Day, I thought we could all use a bit of good news. And the good news I found was in the form of two recent surveys. The top chart is from a Gallup Poll done between March 5th and 8th of a random national sample of 1,025 adults, with a margin of error of 4 points. It shows that more Americans (49%) would choose to protect the environment over developing new energy -- even if that meant energy development would suffer. Only 39% disagree.

The bottom chart is from a new YouGov Poll done on April 15th and 16th of a random national sample of 1,000 adults, with a margin of error of about 4 points. It shows that 60% of the population would find it unacceptable for a political candidate to deny man-made global climate change. If our congressional districts were drawn fairly (instead of gerrymandered), and more people understood the urgency of global warming, we could have a different Congress -- one that would actually take some action.

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To sum up on this Earth Day, I thought it would be good to bust some myths being spread by deniers of global warming. The following is from the website of The Good Housekeeping Institute:

MYTH #1 -- IF GLOBAL WARMING WAS AN ISSUE, BLIZZARDS WOULD BE ON THE WANE.

FACT: We're seeing stronger blizzards because of global warming. As the air, land and sea get warmer, more water evaporates. So when a storm comes along, there's more water to pick up and dump, meaning more snow when it's cold out.

MYTH #2 -- IT'S ALL A NATURAL CYCLE; HUMANS CAN'T AFFECT SOMETHING AS BIG AS EARTH.

FACT: Yes, Earth's temperature goes up and down with the ice ages. But scientists think temperatures should be dropping in preparation for the next ice age, and instead they're soaring. According to NASA, thermometers around the world find that the average global temp has been rising since 1880; 2014 was the hottest year yet. And before the Industrial Era, natural levels of carbon dioxide were about 275 parts per million (ppm). Now, due to all the coal, oil and gas we've burned, levels have topped 400 ppm. The explanation? Us.

MYTH #3 -- IT MAY BE REAL, BUT IT'S NOT AFFECTING MY FAMILY RIGHT NOW.

Fact: Climate change is already hitting our pocketbooks: U.S. losses due to natural disasters like storms, floods, droughts and wildfires rose between 1980 and 2014. Your family may also be affected by worsening allergies from plants that bloom earlier and produce more pollen due to climate change.

MYTH #4 -- LIVING "GREEN" TAKES TOO MUCH EFFORT AND COST.

FACT: Many of the reforms that help Earth can also ease your bottom line, and they're simple to implement. Food waste is the largest component of landfill, so by reducing it — eat leftovers! — we can all significantly lessen methane-emitting landfill material and save cash. More efficient appliances and cars may cost extra up front, but they use so much less energy over the lifetime of the product that you come out ahead.

MYTH #5 -- EVEN IF WE DID SOMETHING ABOUT IT, CHINA'S BUILDING A COAL PLANT A WEEK. WHY BOTHER?

FACT: Our per-person carbon dioxide emissions are almost three times those of China. Yes, China has a lot more people, but the Chinese are doing something about it: They're number two in the world in solar power (we're number five), and they're also beating us on wind power — they're first, we're second.

MYTH #6 -- I'M JUST ONE PERSON. I CAN'T MAKE MUCH DIFFERENCE.

FACT: Our lifestyle decisions control a shocking 75% of emissions in the U.S. If we all improved the energy efficiency of our homes by just 10%, it would be the equivalent of taking some 25 million cars off the road! And as voters, we control a portion of the other 25%. Check out the nonprofit Citizens' Climate Lobby, which can help you write letters to Congress in support of Earth-friendly legislation.

Government Is Not Doing Enough To Protect Environment

Congressional Republicans are proposing significant cuts to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in their proposed budget. They think the government is spending too much to protect the environment, and think it is more important to give new tax cuts to business than worry about our soil, water, and air. They think EPA regulations hurt Wall Street and the giant corporations (their real constituency).

That may be popular with their teabagger base and their Wall Street contributors, but it puts them once again in conflict with the wishes of the general public (just like on other issues -- minimum wage, Social Security, Medicare, offshoring of jobs, tax cuts for the rich, subsidies for corporations, etc.).

It turns out that 82% of Americans don't want cuts to the EPA -- and 48% believe the government is not doing enough to protect the environment. Only a tiny 16% agree with the Republicans that government is doing too much to protect the environment. If it wasn't for some very effective gerrymandering in 2010, the Republicans would be in serious trouble -- because they seem determined to go against the wishes of the public in nearly every issue.

These charts were made from information contained in a recent Gallup Poll -- done between March 5th and 8th of a random national sample of 1,025 adults, with a 4 point margin of error.