Issue Watch
Track global public opinion on current issues.
- 2008: Race for the White House
- 2008: The U.S. Electoral College
- Abortion
- Africa
- Angela Merkel
- Death Penalty
- Economy and Globalization
- Environment
- European Union
- George W. Bush
- Global Warming
- Gordon Brown
- Hamas
- Immigration
- Iran
- Iraq War
- Kevin Rudd
- Latin America
- New Zealand Election 2008
- Nicolas Sarkozy
- North Korea
- Oil and Gas
- Same-Sex Marriage
- Silvio Berlusconi
- Stem Cell Research
- Stephen Harper
- Terrorism
- U.S. Election 2008 - The Democrats
- U.S. Election 2008 - The Republicans
- U.S. Election 2008: The Primaries
- Vladimir Putin
- Yasuo Fukuda
Angus Reid Global Monitor : Polls & Research
Global Warming Real, Serious for Americans
- Many adults in the United States are concerned about climate change, according to a poll by the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press. 74 per cent of respondents describe global warming as a very or somewhat serious problem, and 70 per cent believe the earth is indeed getting warmer.
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.
Yesterday, the House Government Reform Committee began an inquiry into allegations that White House officials purportedly edited climate change reports to make it seem less of a threat. Democratic California congressman Henry Waxman declared, "The Bush administration has very little credibility on this issue."
James Connaughton, chairman of the White House Council on Environmental Quality, said the current federal government has invested $29 billion U.S. in climate change programs, adding, "These efforts go far beyond what's been done before."
Polling Data
In your view, is global warming a very serious problem, somewhat serious, not too serious, or not a problem?
Very serious | 41% |
Somewhat serious | 33% |
Not too serious | 13% |
Not a problem | 11% |
Don't know / Refused | 2% |
Do you believe that the earth is getting warmer?
Yes | 70% |
No | 20% |
Mixed | 1% |
Don't know / Refused | 9% |
Source: Pew Research Center for the People and the Press
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 1,501 American adults, conducted from Jun. 14 to Jun. 19, 2006. Margin of error is 3 per cent.