EPA chief Scott Pruitt might think that magic makes climate change happen, and Rick Scott may have banned state employees from using the phrase, but the majority of Floridians think that human-caused climate change is a thing.
And most of them—around three out of four—are concerned about the phenomenon, according to a recent nonpartisan poll conducted by the Saint Leo University. When asked “How concerned are you about global climate change,” 75.5 percent of Floridians responded in the affirmative—that they were either somewhat or very concerned, on par with the nationwide average of 75.1 percent.
Apparently Steve Bannon’s claims that climate change is a hoax falls flat.
Across the globe, 97 percent of scientists find themselves banging their head against the wall as they try in vain to explain to naysayers that not only is climate change real, humans are the culprit for the drastic increase in carbon dioxide levels that perpetuate life-threatening changes in temperature and weather patterns.
Most of Florida is already convinced. The poll indicated that 77.1 percent of Floridians believe human activity fuels climate change. But not everyone agrees: 13.2 percent blame mother nature and less than 10 percent deny the issue.
Dr. Leo Ondrovic of Pasco County's Saint Leo University says the matter isn’t up for debate. Ondrovic attributes politics for respondents’ ideological divide. Shocker.
“The largest divergence in views is between the political left and right, which is interesting, because this really isn’t a political question," he said. "It may be time to start asking skeptical politicians exactly what part of the very well-established global climate change theory they do not believe.”
The Grim Reaper – er, Bannon is only one of many Trumpian climate change deniers. Attorney General Jeff Sessions has also gone on record to not only refute climate change, but to advocate for carbon dioxide’s plant-respiration-helping properties.
Research by Stanford University scientists offers a different narrative: that Sessions is full of manure. Their report, published by the National Academy of Sciences, found that carbon dioxide does not affect plant growth and that higher temperatures actually inhibit it.
The responsibility to protect the environment and limit carbon emissions falls on the federal government, said more than half of the poll’s respondents. Last week Trump’s “skinny budget” made deep cuts to funding for climate change programs and research. Hopefully no one is holding their breath for the Trump administration’s intervention to ease the consequences of human-caused climate change. Or maybe they should, lest they choke to death on CO2.
This article appears in Mar 23-30, 2017.