April 21, 2007

Abstract: (Angus Reid Global Monitor) - More adults in the United States think climate change is the world's most pressing environmental issue, according to a poll by Stanford University released by the Washington Post and ABC News. 33 per cent of respondents believe global warming is the world's main ecological issue, up 17 points in a year.

(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - More adults in the United States think climate change is the world's most pressing environmental issue, according to a poll by Stanford University released by the Washington Post and ABC News. 33 per cent of respondents believe global warming is the world's main ecological issue, up 17 points in a year.

Air pollution is second on the list of worries with 13 per cent, followed by energy problems and toxic substances in the environment with six per cent each.

The term global warming refers to an increase of the Earth's average temperature. Some theories say that climate change might be the result of human-generated carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases.

In 1998, several countries agreed to the Kyoto Protocol, a proposed amendment to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The agreement commits nations to reduce their emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. The U.S. signed the protocol but has not ratified it.

On Apr. 20, a group of 11 retired U.S. army generals and admirals warned in a report that global warming "presents significant national security challenges to the United States." The generals belong to an American security think-tank called The CAN Corporation. Their report argues that climate change "will seriously exacerbate already marginal living standards in many Asian, African, and Middle Eastern nations, causing widespread political instability and the likelihood of failed states. (...) The chaos that results can be an incubator of civil strife, genocide, and the growth of terrorism."

Polling Data

What in your opinion is the single biggest environmental problem the world faces at this time?

	Apr. 2007	Mar. 2006
Global warming / greenhouse effect / climate change	33%	16%
Air pollution	13%	13%
Energy problems / dependence on fossil fuels / lack of oil	6%	8%
Toxic substances in environment	6%	7%
Water pollution	5%	6%
Pollution (unspecified)	4%	4%
Miscellaneous pollution mentions	4%	3%
Destruction / fragmentation / loss of habitat, rain forests, wetlands, forests, open spaces; overdevelopment; logging and mining	4%	7%
Waste / landfills / not enough recycling	3%	9%
Overpopulation / over-consumption		3%
Oil drilling / oil tankers	1%	2%
Saving natural resources	1%	3%
Tsunami / tidal wave / earthquake / natural disasters	--	1
None	1%	2%
Other	7%	8%
No opinion	8%	7%

Source: Stanford University / Washington Post / ABC News
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 1,002 American adults, conducted from Apr. 5 to Apr. 10, 2007. Margin of error is 3 per cent.

Complete Poll (PDF)

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