American Public Opinion on Climate Change: The Latest Measurements

During the past two decades, headlines on newspapers across the country have proclaimed such things as: "Scientists and the American Public Disagree Sharply over Global Warming." And one U.S. Senator has pronounced that the global warming issue is "dead" in the minds of Americans. Meanwhile, emissions reduction bills, such as Waxman-Markey, have been defeated in the Congress.  Is it really true that Americans reject the opinions of natural scientists on climate change?

In this presentation, Professor Krosnick will describe findings from a series of national surveys that he has designed and conducted since 1996, tracking what Americans do and do not believe on this issue and what they do and do not want to have done about it. Surprising results challenge many widely-held presumptions about public opinion and help set the stage for understanding how future legislation on climate change may fare.

Speaker: Jon Krosnick, Stanford