As can be seen in the answers to the Gallup Poll question above, majorities of political party/ideology groups think global warming will happen in their lifetimes, according to a new
Gallup Poll published just in time for Earth Day. Only a plurality (40 percent) of one group, conservative Republicans, think it will never happen.
That ought to be a good thing. But in most states and in Congress conservative Republicans are running things. And they are determined to throw a wrench into even the mildest efforts to ameliorate the impacts of global warming that are already evident, never mind those that are on the way. Moderate and liberal Republicans—a dwindling breed—don't stand in their way nor do they typically vote in a manner that reflects their view that global warming is happening.
And while elected Democrats have in a few states—California and Washington, for instance—taken action meant to curb emissions of greenhouse gases causing global warming, only a minority have shown a willingness to make dealing with this planetary crisis a top policy priority or even to speak up clearly and firmly about it.
Part of the reason there isn't a concerted push for policy changes that cut against the entrenched power of the fossil fuel interests who have paid for a 25-year long campaign of lies about global warming can be found in the answers to another question Gallup asked:
Nearly six in 10 liberal Democrats (58%) assess global warming as a serious threat to their way of life, a judgment not reflected in any of the alternate political identities. Less than half of conservative/moderate Democrats (46%), 35% of independents, 30% of moderate/liberal Republicans and 12% of conservative Republicans agree with this viewpoint. In this instance, then, it is the other "extreme" political identity—liberal Democrats rather than conservative Republicans—whose views diverge with the mainstream opinions of the other political identities.
Those views make it easy for lawmakers of either party to avoid taking serious action. When the majority of Americans has bought the line that global warming doesn't present a big problem for them, there's not enough pressure from the bottom to take action. And when Democratic leaders—with a few stand-out exceptions—are unwilling to bring pressure from the top to educate the public to the impacts of global warming, a vicious cycle is maintained. President Obama has, since June 2013, been speaking regularly and with passion about the global warming crisis. He has sought controls on greenhouse gas emissions, installation of more renewable sources of energy and more vehicle fuel efficiency. But the administration's all-of-the-above energy policy does not mesh with the oratory.
Over the past decade, an increasing number of stories about scientific assessments of global warming impacts already underway could have been headlined "Faster than expected." Too bad the same cannot be said about the response of the majority of our political leaders.
Their delay is just denial in disguise.