The New York Times has
new poll numbers in:
Ninety percent of Democrats, 80 percent of independents and 60 percent of Republicans said immediate action was required to curb the warming of the
atmosphere and deal with its effects on the global climate. Nineteen
percent said it was not necessary to act now, and 1 percent said no
steps were needed.
You don't see polling that strong for an issue very often, outside of a poll in Boston asking, "How do you feel about the New York Yankees?"
Yet our federal government, both Congress and the White House, has failed to act. As is often the case, this comes down not merely to science--the consensus on global warming was established years ago--but to money. Political money, that is.
I've
covered this before, but it's worth repeating: when the fossil fuel industry, especially oil and gas companies, outspend their opposition by at least
27 to
1 in campaign contributions, it's no wonder that the lawmakers receiving that cash are hesitant to pass strong, restrictive policy on global warming emissions.
It's why we need public financing, so our lawmakers are free to represent us--the 80% of us who want action on global warming now. And on any number of other vital issues that impact a lot of us, whether or not we can write a fat campaign check.
