This Earth Day, a focus on Earth's warming

Public awareness about climate change is growing; 83 percent of Americans now call it a 'serious' problem.

from the April 20, 2007 edition

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Several reasons: Media interest (splashy cover stories in The Atlantic Monthly, Newsweek, and Vanity Fair magazines); Al Gore's film "An Inconvenient Truth"; Democrats now controlling Congress and holding highly publicized hearings, plus a steady drumbeat of reports from the IPCC; retired military officers worried about the national security implications of climate change; and other government and academic sources.

Meanwhile, some high-profile politicians, including Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) of California, have been playing up the issue. Last September, Mr. Schwarzenegger signed the Global Warming Solutions Act, which aims to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions in the state 25 percent by 2020 and 80 percent by 2050 – the most stringent guidelines in the country.

The US Supreme Court has weighed in on climate change. On April 2 it ruled that the US Environmental Protection Agency has the authority to regulate carbon dioxide and greenhouse gases that contribute to global warming.

For some people, a particular event has captured their attention on the effects of climate change. Chela Sullivan in Phoenix was energized when she recently saw Al Gore give his Power- Point presentation in a packed hall at Arizona State University. But like a lot of young Americans, she had already started doing her bit to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions.

She leaves her yellow VW bug at home and carpools as much as possible. She installed energy-saving lightbulbs and appliances in her condo and doesn't use the clothes dryer. "If I have to make adjustments in my life – like walking more and spending less on gas – I will, because I think it's imperative," she says.

More and more, Americans are adopting that attitude. According to the recent Yale Center for Environmental Law and Policy poll, 81 percent of those surveyed agree that, "It is my responsibility to help reduce the impacts of global warming." Sixty-three percent agreed that "our country is in as much danger from environmental hazards such as air pollution and global warming as it is from terrorists."

"Global warming used to be such an amorphous concept," says Melissa Goodall, associate director of the Yale Center. "Now, it's a lot more tangible for people."

Local communities are taking up the cause as well, which both leads and follows public opinion. Two years ago, Seattle mayor Greg Nickels challenged his fellow mayors to meet or beat the Kyoto Protocol targets for US greenhouse-gas emissions – a 7 percent reduction from 1990 levels by 2012. As of this week, 435 mayors have signed up.

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Source: Yale Environment Survey, Feb. 5-11, 2007, 1,017 interviews/SCOTT WALLACE – STAFF