American aren’t convinced of the so-called “97 percent” consensus among climate scientists on global warming, and most U.S. adults don’t have “a lot” of trust in climate scientists to give accurate information about the issue.
The Obama administration has repeatedly touted the “97 percent” statistic as proof most climate scientists agree that global warming is man-made, but a new Pew Research poll shows the public still doesn’t agree the consensus is that strong.
“Just 27% of Americans say that ‘almost all’ climate scientists hold human behavior responsible for climate change,” according to Pew’s new poll, published Tuesday.
“Another 35% say more than half of climate scientists agree about this, while an equal share says that about fewer than half (20%) or almost no (15%) scientific experts believe that human behavior is the main contributing factor in climate change,” Pew reported.
One reason belief in the so-called “consensus” is so low among the public is because of media coverage. American adults trust climate scientists even less than the media, according to Pew, so continuous reports about the “97 percent” figure may have some second-guessing its validity.
And skeptical they should be, since the “97 percent” figure has been debunked several times over the past few years. MIT climate scientist Richard Lindzen bashed the study behind the claim, calling it “propaganda.”
