1. framing-science
  2. Advance Free Access: New Study on Twenty Years of Public Opinion about Global Warming

Advance Free Access: New Study on Twenty Years of Public Opinion about Global Warming

By nisbetmc on August 27, 2007.

NOTE: Unfortunately, the article is only free access from most university IP addresses. Please email me at nisbetmc@gmail.com and I can send you a copy.

I have the following article forthcoming at the fall issue of the journal Public Opinion Quarterly that is now available as part of their free advanced access. Full text here and abstract below:

Nisbet, M.C. & Myers, T. (2007). Twenty years of public opinion about global warming. Public Opinion Quarterly, 71, 3, 1-27.

Over the past 20 years, there have been dozens of news organization, academic, and nonpartisan public opinion surveys on global warming, yet there exists no authoritative summary of their collective findings. In this article, we provide a systematic review of trends in public opinion about global warming. We sifted through hundreds of polling questions culled from more than 70 surveys administered over the past 20 years. In compiling the available trends, we summarize public opinion across several key dimensions including (a) public awareness of the issue of global warming; (b) public understanding of the causes of global warming and the specifics of the policy debate; (c) public perceptions of the certainty of the science and the level of agreement among experts; (d) public concern about the impacts of global warming; (e) public support for policy action in light of potential economic costs; and (f) public support for the Kyoto climate treaty.

Tags
global warming
Public Opinion

More like this

In Contrast to Americans, A Majority of Iranians View Climate Change As a Critical Threat
As Earth Day approaches, expect a number of major polling reports on American views of global warming. I recently had a study accepted at Public Opinion Quarterly that analyzes twenty years of available polling trends on global warming, and I will be updating the analysis in the next two weeks…
DOES THE PUBLIC BELIEVE INHOFE'S HYPE? Public Is Split on Whether Media Exaggerate Global Warming Threat; Though Compared to 1997, More Americans Now Believe that the Media Downplays Global Warming
Yesterday, Senator James Inhofe, Chair of the Committee on Public Works & the Environment, issued a challenge to journalists to stop what he called the "media hype" over global warming. Inhofe compiles a list of what he considers exaggerated distortions of global warming from recent and past…
The Framing of Kyoto vs. Mandatory Caps on Emissions
Something to think about...Kyoto was strategically framed by conservatives as an unfair economic burden on the U.S. , deflating public support across polls. Yet according to Gallup trends and other poll indicators, Americans have always supported international agreements on climate in general and…
Horse Race Coverage & the Political Spectacle
At Time magazine, a focus on who will break out of the pack?! As the Iowa caucus and New Hampshire primary approaches, it's all horse race all the time in the news media with an almost exclusive focus on "insider" coverage of campaign strategy and a fascination with who's ahead and who's behind in…

Very curious to read the full text, but having trouble accessing the full-text. Any tips?

Well I feel embarrassed about it, but off campus, free access is denied. If you are logging on from a university campus IP address, access should not be a problem. Otherwise, email me, and I will send you a PDF of the article.

Thanks, look forward to reading through the article. Can I ask how long the research took (and how many people were engaged in the collating, coding, etc)?

This was actually a project that I started in the fall of 2003, involved the assistance of two graduate students when I was on the faculty at Ohio State, including Teresa Myers, who is co-author. It was submitted in the spring of 2006 and went through multiple rounds of revision and updates.