By Aaron Lee

Media General

Published: December 12, 2008

While a majority of Americans believe the Earth is warming, there is little support among the public to use tax money to address the issue, a new survey suggests.

Results of the survey were released Thursday as a two-day National Conference on Climate Governance began at the University of Virginia's Miller Center of Public Affairs.

The survey is an expansion of one released in October that focused on Virginians' attitudes about climate change.

That survey of 660 Virginians was conducted in early September and suggests that 40 percent of Virginians believe human activity - burning fossil fuels - is responsible for warmer weather.

The latest report added surveys conducted in California, Mississippi and Pennsylvania and roughly 600 other interviews done nationwide.

The survey finds that more than seven of 10 Americans surveyed - 72 percent - report believing there is "solid evidence the Earth is warming," numbers that mirror findings of surveys conducted in 2006 and 2007 by the Pew Center.

However, the Miller Center reports that fewer than one in five Americans - 18 percent - believe addressing global warming should involve raising taxes on fossil fuels.

While the Miller Center report indicates that the belief the Earth is warming cuts across racial, age and education-level barriers, it does point to a partisan divide, with 53 percent of Republicans reporting a belief the Earth was warming, compared with 83 percent of Democrats.

Overall, 70 percent of Americans also reported thinking there should be "immediate government action" to combat global warming.

Those surveyed cited personal observations that included changing weather patterns [20 percent] and images of melting glaciers [20 percent] among their primary reasons for their belief in global warming. Roughly one in 10 people cited scientific research to explain their belief, while 2 percent cited Al Gore's 2006 documentary "An Inconvenient Truth" spotlighting the global warming issue.

The No. 1 reason given by those surveyed who do not believe in global warming was a perception that the Earth's climate is stable.

The survey was sponsored by the Miller Center and conducted by Barry Rabe of the University of Michigan and Christopher Borick of Muhlenberg College, located in Pennsylvania.

The National Conference on Climate Governance continues today at the Miller Center.

JournalNow.com - JournalNow    ©2008 Media General Communications Holdings, LLC. A Media General company