http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/05/science/climate-change-poll-pew.html 2016-10-04 16:57:25 Poll Finds Deep Split on Climate Change. Party Allegiance Is a Big Factor. Democrats are more likely than Republicans to care deeply about climate change and to believe that it is mainly the result of human activity. === Americans are deeply divided on the causes, cures and urgency of Just over a third of Americans say they care a great deal about climate change. Among them, 72 percent are Democrats and 24 percent are Republicans; both numbers include independents who say they generally lean toward one party. On other questions on climate change, Americans remain starkly divided: Nearly 7 out of 10 Democrats believe climate change is mainly a result of human activity; less than a quarter of Republicans believe that. A similarly worded question that appeared on surveys from 2006 to 2015 found comparable gaps on the perceived causes of climate change. According to some scientists who study public perceptions of climate change, the United States is unusual in its relatively low level of public interest and engagement. In The new survey did find areas in which Americans agree across party lines. More than 80 percent, including wide majorities of Democrats, Republicans and independents, favor expansion of both the solar and wind industries. About two-thirds of Americans say that climate scientists should play a major role in policy decisions related to climate change. When it comes to solutions, roughly half of all Americans say that restricting power plant emissions, improving vehicle fuel efficiency and adhering to an international agreement to limit carbon emissions could make a big difference. Republicans are generally more skeptical of the power of individual actions to mitigate climate change. The Pew poll was conducted as part of a study of science and society. Many of the questions focused on public attitudes toward scientists as a group, and climate scientists in particular. Scientists over all — especially those in medicine — are widely trusted by Americans, with more than three-quarters of people saying they trust them a great deal or a fair amount. However, climate scientists do not command the same level of public faith. Only 22 percent of Republicans say they trust climate scientists to give “full and accurate” information on the causes of climate change; for Democrats, that number is 54 percent. More than More than half of conservative Republicans think that scientists’ findings are influenced most of the time by their own career interests or political leanings. Though scientific knowledge is roughly the same among people in both parties, the poll found, that knowledge is no indication of whether Republicans think the earth is warming because of human activity. Among Republicans with high science knowledge (determined by the number of correct responses they gave to science-related questions), 23 percent say that human activity is causing climate change. Among Democrats, the level of science knowledge is a better indicator of belief in human impact on the climate. “It could be the case that people’s political orientations are an anchoring point for applying their knowledge — rather than the other way around,” the Pew report said. Bob Inglis, a former Republican congressman from South Carolina who is working to get members of his party to accept climate change, said that the language often used to discuss the issue has, in part, created the gap in the perceptions of liberals and conservatives. Part of it is that climate change has been framed as a question of belief, he said. He said that climate activists’ insistence on individual sacrifice drives conservatives crazy. “When you say you’re shivering or sweating in the dark to save the planet, conservatives don’t cotton to it,” Mr. Inglis said. More effective, he said, would be to argue that addressing climate change would result in “greater independence, more mobility and more freedom.” The survey was conducted from May 10 to June 6 among 1,534 American adults, with both online and mail responses. It was carried out as part of the American Trends Panel, a representative group of randomly selected adults, created by