The article in the url below reports on some encouraging news for those hoping for some meaningful action on climate change from the U.S. government:
"Maybe it's the pope. Or the freakish year in extreme climate records. It might even be explained by the United Nations climate talks and the bright lights of the presidential election cycle. Whatever the cause, U.S. views on climate change are shifting—fast."
As the article notes, what is interesting about public opinion is not that is it changing, but that it is doing so so quickly:
"Three-quarters of Americans now accept the scientific consensus on climate change, the highest level in four years of surveys conducted by the University of Texas at Austin. The biggest shocker is what's happening inside the GOP. In a remarkable turnabout, 59 percent of Republicans now say climate change is happening, up from 47 percent just six months ago."
This chart is particularly informative:
The speed of this change mirrors the rapid evolution of public opinion in the U.S. on gay marriage (Strategic CSR – A Rational Argument for CSR) and stands in contrast to this insightful tweet from Donald Trump on this issue from January, 2014:
"This very expensive GLOBAL WARMING bullshit has got to stop. Our planet is freezing, record low temps, and our GW scientists are stuck in ice."
Take care
David
David Chandler & Bill Werther
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Americans Have Never Been So Sure About Climate Change—Even Republicans
By Tom Randall
October 23, 2015
Bloomberg Businessweek
