Blame the recession, the failure of Copenhagen, the relentless attacks of the denial lobby, one thing is certain – persuading the public to act on climate change isn’t easy. Research out of Yale in January shows that the number of Americans who believe that climate change is happening has fallen. It’s fairly miserable reading, but perhaps most worrying is the number of people who believe that scientists agree.
Sceptics will rejoice of course, but the simple fact is that 97% of climate scientists do agree that climate change is happening and is caused by human activity. Only 3% hold a different view, and most of those still know the earth is warming, and just favour a different explanation. The general public’s perception of the scientific community’s views is way off the mark.
But, 2010 can be different. The US has been tied up in the healthcare fiasco, and climate change has barely been on the agenda. With the US government promising to cuts its own emissions by 28% by 2020 last week, perhaps things will begin to change. The rest of the world will be watching this space.
The Earthbound Report 