Believers in global warming unchanged since 2001, 1 in 4 Americans don’t buy it at all

Watts Up With That | Apr 22, 2014 | Anthony Watts

One in Four in U.S. Are Solidly Skeptical of Global Warming

Nearly 40% are “Concerned Believers” in global warming, others are mixed

by Lydia Saad, Gallup

PRINCETON, NJ — Over the past decade, Americans have clustered into three broad groups on global warming. The largest, currently describing 39% of U.S. adults, are what can be termed “Concerned Believers” — those who attribute global warming to human actions and are worried about it. This is followed by the “Mixed Middle,” at 36%. And one in four Americans — the “Cool Skeptics” — are not worried about global warming much or at all.  (see graph)

The rate of Concerned Believers has varied some over the past decade and half, but is currently identical to the earliest estimate, from 2001. Over the same period of time, the ranks of Cool Skeptics have swelled, while the Mixed Middle — once the largest group — has declined modestly.

These groupings stem from a special “cluster” analysis of four questions that measure Americans’ belief and concerns about human-induced global warming, all of which have been asked together on Gallup’s annual Environment survey seven times since 2001. The latest results are from the March 6-9, 2014, Environment poll. However, the groupings derive from analysis of seven years of combined data.

Gallup has recently reported on a number of the individual trends included in the cluster analysis as part of its Climate Change series. This analysis provides a unique way of summarizing Americans’ overall stance on global warming.

Complete report here: http://www.gallup.com/poll/168620/one-four-solidly-skeptical-global-warming.aspx