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Poll Shows Partisan Divide on Climate Crisis

Wired's Brandon Keim reports that a new poll from the Pew Research Center shows a sharp drop in the number of Americans who believe the Earth is warming. Since a January poll, the percentage of those who accept global warming dropped from 77 percent to 71 percent.

Keim writes, "Seeing as how 2007 was the second-warmest year on record, and the popular press finally took climate change seriously, I'm not sure how attitudes shifted in this manner."

Indeed the poll comes at a time when evidence continues to pile up that climate change is real. USA Today reports that a new study shows "rapid glacier melts in North America, South America and Europe; trees and plants sprouting leaves much earlier in the spring in Europe, Asia and North America; permafrost melting in Asia; and changes in bird migration patterns across Europe, North America and Australia, all in response to rising global temperatures."

Oddly, the numbers reflect a growing partisan divide at a time when the Republican nominee, John McCain, is campaigning on the issue. The sharpest drop is among Republicans, with just 49 percent, down from 62 percent in January. Speaking yesterday at a Portland, Oregon, wind turbine manufacturer, McCain signaled his determination to lead the world in a campaign against global warming. "I will not permit eight long years to pass without serious action on serious challenges. I will not accept the same dead-end of failed diplomacy that claimed Kyoto. The United States will lead and will lead with a different approach - an approach that speaks to the interests and obligations of every nation," he said.

Seattle Post Intelligencer
cartoonist David Horsey posted a cartoon here that illustrates the problems McCain may have with his base if he continues to push this issue.

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