When it comes to climate change, Democrats and Republicans live in completely different universes. Whereas most Democrats believe climate change is an existential crisis that must be stopped at all costs, most Republicans believe that climate change does not pose an imminent threat to humanity.
A new poll by the Pew Research Center titled “How Americans View Climate Change and Policies to Address the Issue” sheds some light on the stark divide between Republicans and Democrats on several issues related to climate change.
For starters, Democrats and Republicans are on opposite sides concerning the most fundamental element of the climate change debate: the impact of human activity.
The vast majority of Democrats (70 percent) believe human activity, such as the burning of fossil fuels, contributes a “great deal” to climate change. Only 6 percent of Democrats believe human activity contributes “not too much/not at all” to global climate change.
Republicans, on the other hand, generally believe that human activity is not a significant contributor to climate change. In fact, 44 percent of Republicans think human activity contributes “not too much/not at all” to climate change while only 20 percent think it does a “great deal.”
Democrats and Republicans are also on very different wavelengths when it comes to the economic impact of climate policies. Among Republicans, 56 percent think that climate policies generally “hurt” the U.S. economy. On the other hand, 52 percent of Democrats believe climate policies “help” the U.S. economy.
Unsurprisingly, Democrats overwhelmingly support government policies to address climate change. For instance, at least 80 percent of Democrats support legislation that would require power plants to eliminate all carbon emissions by 2040 as well as taxing corporations based on their carbon emissions. In contrast, most Republicans do not support these specific proposals.
One last interesting tidbit from the Pew poll must be noted. Overall, less than half of Americans (45 percent) actually believe human activity is a significant contributor to climate change, which is largely unchanged since 2019.
Frankly, there are probably many reasons why Democrats and Republicans hold such different views on climate change. Nevertheless, I can’t help but wonder if mainstream media bias is at least playing an important role in the schism.
In our current media environment, it is well known that Democrats and Republicans receive news and information from very disparate sources. However, what if some of these sources are more accurate and dependable than others?
A few years ago, The Heartland Institute teamed with Rasmussen Reports to ask likely voters how they receive news and information, as well as several questions about climate-change-related topics. The results were stunning. Here are a few highlights:
- There is a strong correlation between a likely voter’s favorite television news outlet and his or her understanding of basic facts about climate change.
- Compared to viewers of Fox News, “another” cable news outlet, and those who don’t watch television news, viewers of CNN, MSNBC, ABC, CBS, and NBC are substantially more likely to believe that if CO2 emissions continue to increase at recent rates, humans will “become completely or nearly extinct due to climate change” within the next 100 years.
- Viewers of CNN and MSNBC are substantially more likely to overestimate the amount of global warming that has occurred since the late 1800s compared to viewers of Fox News or “another” outlet.
- Viewers of ABC, CBS, and NBC were also substantially more likely to overestimate global warming.
- Respondents who don’t watch cable news and viewers of Fox News or “another” outlet (such as The Blaze TV or Newsmax) were more likely to correctly estimate the amount of warming that has occurred since the late 1800s.
Of course, this poll assumes that Republicans are more likely to watch Fox News while Democrats are more prone to watch CNN, MSNBC, ABC, CBS, and NBC. However, that assertion is supported by recent polling that indicates Republicans do indeed tune in to Fox News much more regularly than Democrats.
Given that the mainstream media are misleading viewers on climate change, it is somewhat understandable that Democrats and Republicans have such opposing views on this topic. But that is also cause for grave concern.
Democrats have been hoodwinked when it comes to climate change because they have bought into the climate alarmism narrative. The societal consequences of this have been severe, as Americans have suffered greatly in recent years due to idiotic Democrat-led climate policies.
Fortunately, President-elect Donald Trump will bring sound energy policy back very soon, which is great news for climate realists. But we also face a long-term task of combating climate alarmism because it is clearly deeply ensconced in the minds of many misguided Democrats.
Chris Talgo (ctalgo@heartland.org) is editorial director at The Heartland Institute.