Repubs Trail Dems But Awareness Of Climate Change Rising

Partisan polarization on climate change is worse than ever

David Roberts, September 7, 2016 (VOX)

This lengthy piece is worth reading in its entirety

“…[A new study finds polarization on climate change] accelerated after 2008, the gap between the parties is wider than ever, and the trend shows no sign of stopping…[E]nvironmental issues were reasonably bipartisan back in the 1970s. The parties began to drift apart in 1980, and then more sharply when Bill Clinton became president in 1992. In 2008, when Obama took office, there was another lurch, and now Republicans in Congress are very close to unified in opposition to all environmental legislation…The partisan gap [in public opinion] grows in the 2000s and then widens further in 2008…[The partisan gap on whether human activity causes climate change also] grows wider in 2008, with Democratic numbers rising and Republican numbers never reaching their 2001 peak…

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…[Because the gap between self-identified conservative Republicans and liberal Democrats is far larger and they are most likely to vote and wield influence over policymakers,] the GOP is going be under continuing pressure to keep climate skepticism central to Republican orthodoxy…[This is likely to change only with (1) better education on climate science, (2) framing climate action as aligned with Republican values like national security, economics, and religion, or (3)] personal experiences with extreme weather events…[The divide] clarifies the stakes of the 2016 elections…” click here for more

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