Despite evidence of global warming, skepticism on the issue continues to grow among Americans, provoking experts to question why.
According to a survey released earlier in the month by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press, 33 percent of Americans believe there is no solid evidence that the Earth is getting warmer, while 57 percent of Americans believe there is solid evidence.
The survey involved 1,500 adults and took place from Sept. 30 to Oct. 4.
In April 2008, a similar survey was taken and showed that only 21 percent of Americans did not believe that there was solid evidence that the Earth is getting warmer.
However, the most dramatic changes come from the decrease in amount of people who once believed the solid evidence.
As recently as two years ago, 77 percent of Americans believed that there was solid evidence, culminating in a 20 percent drop in a span of two years.
The change in attitude has sparked curiosity as to what could have caused it.
“It’s a surprise if there’s been a shift in the public attitude, because if anything, the science that’s come in the last year or so suggests that the effects of global warming are even stronger than we had been thinking,” said Richard Ambrose, director of the Environmental Science and Engineering Program at UCLA. “The debate, to me, seems to have moved beyond whether it’s occurring or not, to what we should do about it.”
The Pew Research survey results have encouraged researchers to explain the switch in attitude.
“If the public opinion is softening on global warming, it’s not being driven by science. … It’s a social or cultural dimension,” said Ambrose, a professor in the department of environmental health sciences.
Professor Paul Bunje, associate researcher and executive director of the Center for Climate Change Solutions, also attributed external influences not involved with environmental research as a cause for a shift.
“A lot of this tends to be tied to political trends,” Bunje said.
The importance of gaining public support for this issue is something that is necessary to facilitate the passing of future legislation, Bunje said.
In an effort to promote effective solutions, UCLA, along with the University of California system, has implemented emission reduction policies.
“The UC policy states that we need to reduce our emission to 2000 levels by 2014 and 1990 levels by 2020. … This is in line with the California targets as well,” said Nurit Katz, UCLA sustainability coordinator.
After completing a feasibility study and putting together an action plan, Katz said she is confident that emissions will be reduced to 1990 levels by 2012, eight years ahead of schedule. As far as how UCLA is accomplishing emission reduction, energy efficiency has become the most effective action, Katz added.
Organizations such as E3, a sustainability student group focused on ecology, economy and equity, have been set up to encourage students to participate in the global warming discussion.
Becky Miller, co-chair of E3 and a fourth-year anthropology and environmental science student, said the goals of E3 were to transform students so that they can encourage the community to take action on behalf of global warming initiatives.
When asked what she thought about the promotion of global warming awareness, Miller said, “I think we’re doing a pretty good job. That is to say I don’t know exactly what we could be doing better.”
With organizations such as E3 and other actions being taken around campus regarding global warming, Miller said she believes students would be empowered if they knew what UCLA was doing.
But even with students and faculty members being involved, global warming can still appear to be an intimidating issue for everyday students to take on.
“Everyone wants to do something about it, but they are not sure how to approach it,” said Linda Phi, a second-year neuroscience student.