While 97 percent of scientists may agree mankind is driving global warming, 97 percent of Americans don’t seem to care about the issue when stacked up against other concerns such as terrorism or the economy, according to a recent Fox News poll.
A November Fox News poll of more than 1,000 registered voters found that only 3 percent listed “climate change” as the most important issue facing the country today, down from 5 percent in August. Americans were much more worried about terrorism, the economy and immigration than global warming.
Even among Democrats concern for global warming was low. The Fox poll found only 6 percent of Democrats listed global warming as their top concern, compared to 1 percent of Republicans. Men were slightly more likely than women to list global warming as their top concern, and whites were more likely than blacks to worry about warming.
Fox released its poll as President Barack Obama prepares to meet other world leaders in Paris next week for a United Nations climate summit. Obama desperately wants countries to sign onto a global agreement to reduce carbon dioxide emissions and make up for his foreign policy failure at Copenhagen in 2009.
But Obama’s climate agenda doesn’t seem to be gaining traction with Americans despite increased efforts to tie global warming to extreme weather, public health concerns and national security.
Democratic mega-donor Tom Steyer spent $73 million during the 2014 election cycle backing liberal candidates and trying to make global warming a top tier issue in campaigns — but with little success it would seem.
Steyer, a hedge fund billionaire, has vowed to dump money into getting candidates to talk more about global warming. Steyer held a fundraiser earlier this year for former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who later released a plan to build half a billion solar panels by the end of her first term.
Republican donor Jay Faison, a North Carolina businessman, has also pledged to spend big making global warming a top-tier political issue. Faison’s money may have already convinced New Hampshire Republican Sen. Kelly Ayotte to support federal regulations limiting carbon dioxide emissions from power plants.
Faison donated $5,400 to Ayotte’s campaign in June. He also gave $500,000 to a super PAC called Granite State Solutions, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. That PAC could be used to defend Ayotte and other New Hampshire Republican candidates during the 2016 election cycle.
“After carefully reviewing this plan and talking with members of our business community, environmental groups, and other stakeholders, I have decided to support the Clean Power Plan to address climate change through clean energy solutions that will protect our environment,” Ayotte said in a statement last month.
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