A special report, Politics & Global Warming: Democrats, Republicans, Independents, and the Tea Party reports how the members of each political party respond to the issue of global warming. The Tea Party has become an important new player in American politics, so this report for the first time separates their views on global warming from the traditional political categories of Democrats, Republicans, and Independents.
Executive Summary
GLOBAL WARMING BELIEFS
- Majorities of Democrats (78%), Independents (71%) and Republicans (53%) believe that global warming is happening. By contrast, only 34 percent of Tea Party members believe global warming is happening, while 53 percent say it is not happening.
- While 62 percent of Democrats say that global warming is caused mostly by human activities, most Tea Party members say it is either naturally caused (50%) or isn’t happening at all (21%).
- Democrats are more likely to agree that the record heat waves of the summer of 2010 (not 2011) strengthened their belief that global warming is occurring, while Republicans and Tea Party members are more likely to disagree.
- By contrast, Tea Party members are more likely to agree that the record snowstorms of the winter of 2010-2011 in the US caused them to question whether global warming is occurring.
- A majority of Democrats (55%) say that most scientists think global warming is happening, while majorities of Republicans (56%) and Tea Party members (69%) say that there is a lot of disagreement among scientists about whether or not global warming is happening.
- A large majority of Democrats (72%) worry about global warming, compared to 53 percent of Independents, 38 percent of Republicans, and 24 percent of Tea Party members. Over half (51%) of Tea Party members say they are not at all worried about global warming.
- Nearly half of Democrats (45%) say that global warming is already harming people in the United States, while 33 percent of Republicans and 51 percent of Tea Party members say it will never harm people in the United States.
- Tea Party members are much more likely to say that they are “very well informed” about global warming than the other groups. Likewise, they are also much more likely to say they “do not need any more information” about global warming to make up their mind.
SUPPORT FOR CLIMATE AND ENERGY POLICIES
- Majorities of all four political groups support funding more research into renewable energy sources such as solar and wind power and providing tax rebates for people who purchase energy efficient vehicles or solar panels.
- Majorities of Democrats, Independents and Republicans support requiring electric utilities to produce at least 20% of their electricity from renewable energy sources, even if it cost the average household an extra $100 a year. A majority of Tea Party members, however, oppose this policy, with 39 percent strongly opposed.
- Likewise, majorities of Democrats, Independents and Republicans support an international treaty to cut carbon dioxide emissions. A large majority of Tea Party members, however, oppose a treaty, with 55 percent strongly opposed.
- Majorities of all four parties support the expansion of offshore drilling for oil and natural gas off the U.S. coast, with 46 percent of Republicans and 58 percent of Tea Party members strongly supportive.
- A majority of Democrats oppose building more nuclear power plants (65%), while majorities of Independents (52%), Republicans (62%) and Tea Party members (67%) support building them.
- However, only a majority of Tea Party members (52%) would support building a nuclear power plant in their own local area. All other groups would be opposed.
- Majorities of all four groups support local regulations requiring new homes to be more energy efficient, the construction of bike paths on city streets, and increasing the availability of public transportation in their county.
- Majorities of Democrats and Independents support paying 5% more on their monthly utility bill to get their electricity from renewable sources, changing zoning rules to promote energy efficient apartment buildings, mixed use neighborhoods to encourage walking, and decreasing suburban sprawl. Majorities of Republicans and Tea Party members oppose these local policies, with Tea Party members much more likely to strongly oppose them.
- Majorities of all four groups say that protecting the environment either improves economic growth and provides new jobs or has no effect on economic growth or jobs. Tea Party members are the most likely to say environmental protection reduces economic growth and costs jobs (33%).
MISCELLANEOUS
- Tea Party members are more than twice as likely than any other group to say they don’t want to change the light bulbs in their house to energy-efficient compact fluorescent lights (CFLs).
- Majorities of all four groups trust scientists as a source of information about global warming, ranging from 88 percent of Democrats to 51 percent of Tea Party members. By contrast, 82 percent of Democrats trust President Obama as a source of information, compared to 41 percent of Independents, 21 percent of Republicans, and only 5 percent of Tea Party members.
- Tea Party members are far more likely to have heard about the “climategate” email controversy (45%) than Republicans (20%), Independents (27%), or Democrats (16%).
VALUES AND POLITICS
- Tea Party members are politically more conservative (78%) than Republicans (63%), Independents (27%), or Democrats (11%).
- Tea Party members are more likely to be “born-again” or evangelicals (46%) than Republicans (31%), Independents (20%), or Democrats (21%).
- Democrats are more likely to believe that human beings evolved from earlier species of animals (62%), compared to Independents (57%), Republicans (51%), and Tea Party members (34%).
- Democrats have stronger egalitarian values than all other groups, with Tea Party members holding relatively anti-egalitarian views.
- Tea Party members have stronger individualistic values than all other groups, with strong anti-government attitudes
Interview dates: April 23, 2011 – May 12, 2011
Interviews: 1,010 Adults (18+)
Margin of error: +/- 3 percentage points at the 95% confidence level.
NOTE: All results show percentages among all respondents, unless otherwise labeled. Totals may
occasionally sum to more than 100 percent due to rounding.
This study was conducted by the Yale Project on Climate Change Communication and the George
Mason University Center for Climate Change Communication, and was funded by the Surdna
Foundation, the 11th Hour Project, and the Grantham Foundation for the Protection of the
Environment.
Principal Investigators:
Anthony Leiserowitz, PhD
Yale Project on Climate Change Communication
School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, Yale University
(203) 432-4865 [email protected]
Edward Maibach, MPH, PhD
Center for Climate Change Communication
Department of Communication, George Mason University
(703) 993-1587 [email protected]
Connie Roser-Renouf, PhD
Center for Climate Change Communication
Department of Communication, George Mason University
(707) 825-0601 [email protected]
Jay D. Hmielowski, PhD
Yale Project on Climate Change Communication
School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, Yale University
(203) 432-0773 [email protected]
Cite as: Leiserowitz, A., Maibach, E., Roser-Renouf, C., & Hmielowski, J. D. (2011) Politics & Global
Warming: Democrats, Republicans, Independents, and the Tea Party. Yale University and George Mason University. New Haven, CT: Yale Project on Climate Change Communication.
http://environment.yale.edu/climate/files/PoliticsGlobalWarming2011.pdf