Anthony Leiserowitz of Yale is out with new polling data on the public and climate, including asking a question that hasn't been asked before: "To the best of your knowledge, what proportion of climate scientists think that global warming is caused mostly by human activities?" Here are the (dismal) results:
81 to 100 % (of climate scientists) -- 15 % (of Americans) 61 to 80 % -- 18 % 41 to 60 % -- 18 % 21 to 40 % -- 12 % 0 to 20 % -- 7 % Don't know enough to say -- 32 %
In other words, Americans are all over the map on this question, with no idea as to the strength of the scientific consensus. Or to put it another way--the vast majority of the public is either giving the wrong answer, or doesn't know the answer.
