As the Senate holds hearings on a major climate change bill this week, you're going to hear a lot of numbers: 20 percent reduction in greenhouse gases, 350 parts per million, and $100 per household. But the best number to focus on may be this one: 55.
That's the percentage of Americans who say they've heard "nothing at all" about cap and trade legislation, according to the Pew Research Center. That didn't get as much attention as another finding in the same survey, that fewer Americans say there's "solid evidence" of global warming, but it may be just as significant to the debate. In another Pew survey, only 23 percent correctly identified cap-and-trade as having to do with energy and the environment. That jives with the low knowledge levels Public Agenda found in our own research.
That means the public is still a long way from being fully engaged in this issue. You don't have to be an expert to play a role in these decisions, but you do need some basic knowledge in order to follow the discussion. Right now, despite the efforts of activists, we've still got a way to go, and there are still lots of ways this debate can stall or get hijacked.
But there are easy ways to get up to speed on hard choices. The public can play a real part in this debate – if we give them what they need.
- Scott Bittle's blog
- Login or register to post comments
There are no comments for "The Number That Matters Most For The Climate Change Debate".