About the Author

Richard Cochrane is trained in chemistry and metallurgy but is far more interested and practiced as a political and fund raising consultant, writer and amateur historian. He grew up in a Navy family and with his two younger brothers carried on its 500+ year tradition of naval service to Great Britain and the USA then enjoyed a career with one of the largest advertising and public relations agencies working with numerous Fortune 500 companies and many of America's premier educational institutions. He maintains friendships and acquaintanceships around the world. He lives in Santa Barbara, California.

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23% Say Global Warming Will Destroy Humans Within Century

February 5th, 2009 • Richard Cochrane
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43% Believe In Aliens and nearly 40% are illiterate or read at 4-5th grade level - so it’s no wonder.

According to a new Rasmussen poll nearly one-out-of-four American voters (23%) say it is at least somewhat likely that global warming will destroy human civilization within the next century. Five percent (5%) say it’s very likely. That compares with a UK Sun poll found that 7% say they have seen a UFO and 43% believe in UFO and alien visits

Republicans and unaffiliated voters strongly reject the notion that global warming will end human civilization, but Democrats are more evenly divided—38% think that disastrous outcome is likely while 46% disagree.

Overall, voters are evenly divided over whether there’s an immediate need to take action on global warming. Forty-one percent (41%) believe there is, but the same number (41%) say we can wait a few years to see if the problem is real. Sixty-two percent (62%) of Democrats say we must take immediate action, but 64% of GOP voters say it’s all right to wait a few years. A plurality of unaffiliated voters give the edge to waiting.

One reason for the voter caution is that 46% believe giving government greater control over the economy to fight global warming will be bad for America. Just 35% believe it will be good and twenty percent (20%) are not sure.

Twenty-nine percent (29%) of all voters think a period of dangerous global warming is the most likely climate expectation. Five percent (5%) predict a dangerous ice age but most (52%) expect something in between. Most Democrats expect a period of dangerous global warming while most Republicans and unaffiliated voters expect something between the two extremes.

Forty-five percent (45%) of voters acknowledge there is conflict between economic growth and environmental protection.

(Want a free daily e-mail update? Sign up now. If it’s in the news, it’s in our polls).

Sixty-four percent (64%) say global warming is a serious problem, down slightly from a survey last April. But voters increasingly regard it as the product of long-term planetary trends rather than human activity.

Former Vice President Al Gore won the Nobel Peace Prize for his anti-global warming efforts, but just 36% of voters believe he knows what he’s talking about.

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