Warming Threatens U.S. Security

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« Cutting carbon in Great White North | Main | 36th District Dems still deadlocked »

Warming Threatens U.S. Security

A new national poll shows that 41 percent of all Americans, and 44 percent of committed voters, feel that global warming will threaten America's national security if action is not taken.

An even larger percentage, 62 percent of those surveyed, believe it is important that the next president initiate strong action to address the causes of climate change soon after taking office.

The poll, which surveyed 2,175 U.S. adults, was taken by Harris Interactive during the period of June 25-27. It was done for the Presidential Climate Action Project, a non-profit initiative out of the University of Colorado Denver School of Public Affairs.

The survey was taken as the National Intelligence Council issued its first-ever National Intelligence Assessment on the link between global climate change and America's security. It warned of potential global instability, mass migrations of populations, and extreme climate conditions.

"This poll indicates that the American people are beginning to come to the same conclusion as the nation's intelligence community -- that climate change is not just an environmental issue," said Bill Becker, director of the climate project.

The feeling that global warming is a threat to national security was strongest on the West Coast (45 percent) and the Northeast (44 percent). A little less than one-third of those surveyed remained neutral with the premise that climate change is a threat to security.

The poll also took a look of Americans' impressions of presidential candidates on climate change.

According to the survey, 35 percent believe that Sen. Barack Obama offers a stronger policy on climate change. Half as many, 17 percent, opted for Sen. John McCain, despite McCain's nickname of "Captain Climate" in the Senate.

Among those who said they are absolutely certain to vote, 42 per cent believe that Obama is stronger on climate change, with 19 percent saying McCain.

Nearly half (48 percent) of those interviewed indicated that they were uncertain about where the candidates stand on global warming.

Support for strong presidential action on global warming was strongest on the West Coast (69 percent), among women (67 percent versus 57 percent among men), and among younger voters.

Posted by at July 10, 2008 6:47 p.m.
Category: 2008 Presidential Election

Comments

#149552

Posted by hparks_3 at 7/10/08 7:30 p.m.

BS. Global Warming and/or Climate Change (whichever one sells this week) is a hoax. Otherwise the glaciers on Mount Shast wouldn't be GROWING now would they????

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#149593

Posted by dobermanmacleod at 7/10/08 9:27 p.m.

"Few seem to realise that the present IPCC models predict almost unanimously that by 2040 the average summer in Europe will be as hot as the summer of 2003 when over 30,000 died from heat. By then we may cool ourselves with air conditioning and learn to live in a climate no worse than that of Baghdad now. But without extensive irrigation the plants will die and both farming and natural ecosystems will be replaced by scrub and desert. What will there be to eat? The same dire changes will affect the rest of the world and I can envisage Americans migrating into Canada and the Chinese into Siberia but there may be little food for any of them." --Dr James Lovelock's lecture to the Royal Society, 29 Oct. '07

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#149686

Posted by unregistered user at 7/11/08 6:35 a.m.

Re: Posted by hparks_3 at 7/10/08 7:30 p.m.

"BS. Global Warming and/or Climate Change (whichever one sells this week) is a hoax. Otherwise the glaciers on Mount Shast wouldn't be GROWING now would they????"

From: http://cbs13.com/seenon/Mount.Shasta.Global.2.485725.html
""Mount Shasta is right at the very northern end of areas influenced by El Nino and were at the southern end of areas affected by La Nina. So between the two we get to see the benefits of that which means more snow and rain in this area," says White.

Snow scientists have been tracking the glaciers' size by comparing photos from a century ago to those taken decades later, and then using satellite data and computer modeling to determine the rate of growth.

Those models predict Shasta will continue to receive more than normal snowfall, but if the temperature continues to rise, the glaciers will begin to recede."

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#150019

Posted by Sol Shapiro at 7/11/08 3:30 p.m.

Here's a question that should be asked in polls, but I doubt that it will be.
"If there were a way to put global warming on hold in short order at a cost of one to a few tens of billions of dollars per year, should this money be spent for that purpose to give the world a century or more that it will take to change its energy base?"
Many of you may not know that such processes, termed "geoengineering" do exist. Endorsed for study and deployment as needed by many prominent scientists over the past 30 years including the president of the National Academy of Sciences, one implementation is to emulate the cooling effects of large volcanic eruptions.
If interested in more on this and published statement by prominent IPCC scientists to "censor" discussion of geoengineering write to me. Somarl@msn.com

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