American Opinions on Global Warming

The 2007 survey reveals that while 71% of Americans believe global warming is happening and 62% view it as an urgent threat, there is a significant gap in the perception of scientific consensus, with only 48% believing such a consensus exists. Public opinion on the cause of global warming leans toward human influence, with 69% attributing it mainly or equally to human activities. However, personal worry is split evenly (50%) between those who are concerned and those who are not, largely because many perceive the threat as affecting distant locations rather than their own local communities. Notably, the belief that global warming is already or will soon have dangerous impacts on people rose by 20 percentage points between 2004 and 2007.

• A large majority of Americans (71%) believe global warming is occurring, yet there is a lack of perceived scientific agreement; only 48% believe a consensus exists among scientists, while 40% believe there is significant disagreement.
• Most Americans attribute global warming to human influence, with 69% stating it is caused mainly or equally by human activities and natural changes, compared to 29% who attribute it mostly to natural changes.
• Public worry is split evenly at 50%, driven by a perception that global warming is a serious threat to distant species and people rather than to individuals, their families, or local communities.
• There was a 20 percentage point increase between June 2004 and 2007 in the proportion of Americans believing global warming is already having or will soon have dangerous impacts on people, reaching 48%. Additionally, 62% of Americans view global warming as an urgent threat requiring immediate and drastic action.

APA

Yale Program on Climate Change Communication (2007). American Opinions on Global Warming. https://climatecommunication.yale.edu/publications/american-opinions-on-global-warming/

Chicago

Yale Program on Climate Change Communication. American Opinions on Global Warming. 2007. https://climatecommunication.yale.edu/publications/american-opinions-on-global-warming/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Yale Program on Climate Change Communication |title=American Opinions on Global Warming |date=31 July 2007 |url=https://climatecommunication.yale.edu/publications/american-opinions-on-global-warming/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{yaleprogramonclimatechangecommunication2007american, author = {{Yale Program on Climate Change Communication}}, title = {{American Opinions on Global Warming}}, institution = {Yale Program on Climate Change Communication}, year = {2007}, month = jul, url = {https://climatecommunication.yale.edu/publications/american-opinions-on-global-warming/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }