In a new installment of "Policy Points," Barry Rabe discusses the increasing belief among Americans in the existence of global warming.
"We've now seen in recent surveys a jump back up from levels of the last couple of years—where belief was around the fifty percent level—to where nearly now seven out of ten Americans believe there is solid evidence of global warming over the last four decades," Rabe said.
Views among Republican respondents have increased most noticeably, Rabe said. According to the late fall 2012 National Survey on Energy and the Environment (NSEE), which was conducted by the University of Michigan and Muhlenberg College, 51% of Republicans believe there is solid evidence of global warming.
In Brookings Institution blog post, co-authored with Christopher Borick, Rabe also argues that Americans' changing views may help explain President Obama's recently renewed emphasis on global warming. In both his Second Inaugural Address and State of the Union Speech, the president called for new efforts to combat global warming while discussing the damage caused by Superstorm Sandy.
However, Rabe and Borick point out the exact policy actions the President will take to address global warming remains to be seen.