Study: St. Louis area supports climate change actions

Apr 7 - McClatchy-Tribune Content Agency, LLC - Jacob Barker St. Louis Post-Dispatch

 

Most residents in the St. Louis region think global warming is happening, but they aren't sure humans are the main culprit.

That's according to a new survey tool from Yale University's Yale Project on Climate Change Communication, which gathered data from 2008 through 2014 and built this map that shows attitudes by state, county and Congressional District. The study was recently published in the journal Nature Climate Change.

St. Louisans are most convinced climate change is occurring (69 percent), but residents of St. Louis County aren't far behind (67 percent). In fact, a majority of people in every county in Missouri and Illinois believe it, according to the Yale survey data. Statewide, 60 percent of Missourians and 67 percent of Illinoisans accept the strong scientific consensus that the planet's average temperatures are warming.

But when asked whether human activities are mostly to blame, only a handful of counties and the St. Louis city had a majority of residents who agreed. Most residents of Jackson County (51 percent) and St. Louis (55 percent) agree, but only 48 percent of those in St. Louis County and 45 percent of those in St. Charles County think humans are causing the planet to warm. It's still lower in Jefferson County, at 42 percent. Madison and St. Clair counties are at 47 percent and 46 percent, respectively.

It's interesting, then, that there appears to be strong support for regulating carbon dioxide as a pollutant and setting limits on existing power plants. In all, 74 percent of Missourians and 78 percent of those in Illinois support regulating C02. St. Louis and St. Louis County as well as St. Clair and Madison counties had the strongest support, but even in Jefferson and St. Charles counties, more than 70 percent of residents were on board.

There's majority support for strict carbon limits on power plants and renewable energy mandates. But the policy prescription many economists and experts say would be the most efficient way curb CO2, a carbon tax, appears still to be a policy whose time has not yet come.

Jacob Barker -- 314-340-8291

@jacobbarker on Twitter

jbarker@post-dispatch.com

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