Lets Look At Those Polls!

A nationwide survey suggests an increasing number of U.S. citizens consider global warming an important threat that calls for drastic action.

The survey by Yale University, The Gallup Organization and the ClearVision Institute showed 40% of respondents said a presidential candidate's position on the issue will strongly influence the vote.

"One of the most surprising findings was the growing sense of urgency," said Anthony Leiserowitz, director of the Yale Project on Climate Change and the study's principal investigator. "Nearly half of Americans now believe global warming is either already having dangerous impacts on people around the world or will in the next 10 years -- a 20-percentage-point increase since 2004."

The survey, among other things, found 62 percent of respondents believe life on Earth will continue without major disruptions only if society takes immediate and drastic action to reduce global warming.

The July 23-26 telephone survey involving interviews with 1,011 adults aged 18 years or older is considered representative of U.S. adults nationwide. It has a margin of error of 4 percentage points.

The complete survey results are available at http://environment.yale.edu/news/5305-american-opinions-on-global-warming/.

A British Broadcasting Corp. poll finds 79% of people in 21 nations believe human activity causes global warming.

The BBC's World Service poll indicates nine of 10 say action is needed to address global warming, with 65% choosing the strongest position, saying, "It is necessary to take major steps starting very soon."

The poll included 14 of the 16 major economic powers invited by President Bush to Washington later this week to discuss climate change and energy security.

73% of respondents in all but two nations want developing countries to limit their emissions in return for financial assistance and technology from developed countries.

The survey, which included telephone and face-to-face interviews, was conducted for the BBC by the international polling firm GlobeScan together with the University of Maryland between May 29 and July 26.

Some 22,182 people in Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Egypt, France, Germany, Britain, India, Indonesia, Italy, Kenya, Mexico, Nigeria, the Philippines, Russia, South Korea, Spain, Turkey and the United States were interviewed. The margin of error per country ranges from plus or minus 2.3 percent to 3.5 percent

A new survey shows nearly seven out of 10 Chinese consumers prefer to buy products and services from environmentally reputable companies.

The survey -- sponsored by the Oslo-based Tandberg Co. and conducted by the Britain-based research firm Ipsos Mori -- found only 42% of U.S. consumers concurred. Other countries that ranked high include Australia, 52%; Sweden, 48%; and Japan, 40%. Spain trailed with only 18 percent of its consumers preferring to purchase from environmentally friendly businesses.

The Tandberg-Ipsos Mori survey queried 16,823 consumers in 15 nations: Australia, Brazil, Canada, China,
France, Great Britain, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway, Russia, Spain, Sweden and the United States.

When asked if they were taking personal steps to reduce their carbon footprints, Canadians topped the list with 56%, Australians and Chinese also ranked high at 55 % and 52%, in that order. U.S. residents came in seventh with 41%.

At the other end of the spectrum, only 17% of Italians and 21% of Russians said they were concerned about the
environment and were taking personal measures to be more environmentally responsible.

As Always, Keep it Green