Have you noticed that climate change fanatics have become even more strident lately, blaming rising temperatures for everything from fewer fish to drought to earthquakes to higher insurance premiums?
We believe Americans are on to the over-the-top climate hysteria and polls show it.
Take the new Monmouth University poll, which has been surveying Americans for a decade on climate. While over 70 percent of Americans say they accept the existence of climate change, the number who see this as a very serious problem has fallen to 46 percent of respondents. That’s down from 56 percent in 2021. The drop in the perceived importance and urgency of climate change has been most pronounced among younger adults.
Among young people between the ages of 18 and those who see climate change as a very serious problem has fallen to 50 percent, down from 67 percent in 2021.
Climate concerns are also heavily bunched in certain demographic categories. While 77% of all Democrats believe climate change is very serious, only 43% of independents and 13% of Republicans do.
From the poll:
“Most Americans continue to believe climate change is real. The difference in these latest poll results is a decline in a sense of urgency around this issue,” said Patrick Murray, director of the independent Monmouth University Polling Institute. A Monmouth poll released last month found only 15% of voters view climate change as a determinative issue in how they will vote in the 2024 presidential election, ranking far lower than inflation, immigration, and abortion.
Less than half (46%) of the American public sees climate change as a very serious problem. This number is higher than it was nine years ago (41% in 2015), but is decidedly lower than in more recent polling (54% in 2018 and 56% in 2021). Compared to three years ago, climate change concern has declined by 8 percentage points among both Democrats (77% very serious, down from 85% in 2021) and Republicans (13%, from 21%) and by 13 points among independents (43%, from 56%).
There has also been a drop in support for government action on climate change. Just over half say it is either extremely important (29%) or very important (23%) for the federal government to address the issue. This is down from 6 in 10 who felt this way less than three years ago (33% extremely and 27% very important in September 2021). Currently, 59% support and 36% oppose the U.S. government doing more to reduce the type of activities that cause climate change and sea level rise. While a clear majority continue to support government action, this number is lower than past polling (66% in 2021, 69% in 2018, and 64% in 2015). Most Democrats (89%) support government action on climate change while few Republicans (30%) feel the same. These results are nearly identical to 2021. However, support among independents has dropped significantly over the past three years (55%, down from 67% in 2021).
“Support for climate action remains relatively high in absolute terms, but it has softened due to a drop in the sense of urgency on this issue, particularly among younger adults,” said Murray.
