President and the Public Not on Common Ground With Climate Change

In podcast #7, we touched on the so-called “green movement” and how it seems to be moving beyond the realm of partisanship.  Today’s Dot Earth column from Andrew Revkin and the New York Times shows some numbers that beg to differ.  The column is a good jumping-off point to read up on some recent stories on this topic.  Revkin cites a Rasmussen Reports poll that said:

Fifty-nine percent (59%) of Democrats blame global warming on human activity, compared to 21% percent of Republicans. Two-thirds of GOP voters (67%) see long-term planetary trends as the cause versus 23% of Democrats.

With the price of gas down to levels we haven’t seen since 2006 and the global economy reeling, will we shove our collective head into the sand once again when it comes to climate change?  Can we afford to?  The new president doesn’t seem to think so…