Epochal, Generational Challenge: Climate Change vs Willful Government Dysfunction

Nostradamus I'm not but I have a strong suspicion that decades from now, historians will look back on our generation with contempt for not dealing with Climate Change. How does anyone ever make sense out of two obscenely wealthy brothers, sons of a vicious anti-American fascist-- keeping the world from saving itself so they could increase their wealth? Even Republicans have started to hate what their own party has come to stand for and when it comes to Climate Change, the civil war inside the Republican Party becomes very apparent and very tangible. A new poll from Pew uncovers bad news-- not just for a fractured GOP, but for all mankind held hostage to their insanity. The problem, of course, are the Koch-financed/Fox brainwashed teabaggers.

Two-thirds of Americans (67%) say there is solid evidence that the earth has been getting warmer over the last few decades, a figure that has changed little in the past few years. While partisan differences over climate change remain substantial, Republicans face greater internal divisions over this issue than do Democrats.

Just 25% of Tea Party Republicans say there is solid evidence of global warming, compared with 61%of non-Tea Party Republicans.

…Opinions of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents divide into four roughly equal size groups: 23% say there is solid evidence of global warming and it is mostly caused by human activity; 19% say warming exists but is due to natural patterns; 25% see no solid evidence and say it is just not happening; 20% say there is no solid evidence but not enough is known yet.

Among Tea Party Republicans, the largest share-- 41%-- says that global warming is just not happening, while another 28% say not enough is known. Among non-Tea Party Republicans, just 13% say global warming is not happening and among Democrats and Democratic leaners, just 4% express this view.

…Since 2009, there has been a steady increase in the share of both Republicans and Democrats who say there is solid evidence of global warming. In 2009, 35% of Republicans, 53% of independents and 75% of Democrats said there was solid evidence of rising temperatures on earth. Today, half of Republicans (50%), 62% of independents and 88% of Democrats say this.

However, fewer Republicans and independents have this view than in 2006; at that time, 59% of Republicans and 79% of independents said there was solid evidence of rising global temperatures.

Views about the primary cause of global warming have followed a similar trajectory. Currently, 44% say there is solid evidence of global warming and it is mostly due to human activity; 18% say it is mostly because of natural environmental patterns.

Two-thirds of Democrats (66%) now say that warming is mainly because of human activity, up nine points from earlier this year. Fewer independents (43%) and Republicans (24%) than Democrats say that human activity is the primary cause of global warming.

Among Democrats, there are sizable educational differences over the main cause of global warming. Fully 86% of Democrats with college degrees say that the earth is warming and this is mostly due to human activity. Among Democrats with less education, 57% express this view.

By contrast, similar percentages of Republican college graduates (28%) and those who do not have a college degree (23%) say that human activity is mostly responsible for global warming.

A majority (54%) now say that scientists generally agree that the earth is warming because of human activity, while 37% say that scientists do not generally agree. A year ago, opinion was evenly divided: 45% said scientists generally agreed, while 43% said they did not.

Most Democrats say there is scientific consensus on global warming (71%). Only 41% of Republicans say that scientists generally agree, while 48% say they do not.

But with the Koch-backed teabaggers preventing Congress from acting, there's not much the government can do. Obama's efforts to circumvent congressional gridlock, indecision and innate conservatism, seem puny and ineffective. Inside Climate News put on a happy face:

On Nov. 1, 2013, Pres. Obama issued a far-reaching executive order to improve "climate preparedness and resilience" in states and communities and "help safeguard our economy" from the threat of global warming impacts. The order includes the establishment of an interagency Council on Climate Preparedness and Resilience, co-chaired by the Chair of the Council on Environmental Quality, the director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy and the assistant to the president for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism. It also establishes a task force of state, local and tribal leaders.

Climate change "impacts are often most significant for communities that already face economic or health-related challenges, and for species and habitats that are already facing other pressures. Managing these risks requires deliberate preparation, close cooperation, and coordinated planning by the Federal Government," the order said.

Knowing Obama, it's probably a prelude to him giving the OK to the Keystone XL Pipeline.