Even though 90 percent of Americans did not say global warming was the country’s most pressing issue, climate concerns topped other categories. Only 6 percent said the U.S.’s relationship with Russia was a top concern, and only 4 percent said taxes.
The Bloomberg poll found that health care was by far the top concern for Americans. Thirty-five percent said health care was their top concern and 13 percent pointed to unemployment and jobs.
The results shouldn’t be that surprising. Polls consistently find only a fraction of Americans rank global warming as their top concern. A 2016 YouGov poll, for example, found only 9.2 percent of Americans listed global warming as their top concern.
A 2015 Fox News poll found only 3 percent of Americans viewed global warming as the most important issue facing the country.
What’s also interesting is that even though a low number of Americans list global warming as their top concern, a whopping 40 percent told Yale University pollsters in early July they believed there was a 50/50 chance man-made warming would eventually lead to humanity’s extinction.
The new Bloomberg poll is particularly interesting since a separate Harvard University-Politico poll released Friday found a majority of Americans disapproved of President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw from the Paris climate accord.
