Views on Climate Change." Environment 50 (September/October): 26-35.

This paper expands on the original essay (2001) grounding the analysis in literature on partisan polarization and adding updated correlation results to reinforce the evidence of growing polarization. The latest survey data demonstrate that the relationships between party identification and global warming views are not spurious, and that the polarization is stronger among respondents who believe they understand global warming. The percentage of Americans viewing global warming as a serious threat to themselves or their way of life during their lifetimes has moderately increased, from 25 percent in 1997 to 40 percent in 2008. The percentage saying that global warming will pose a serious threat within their lifetimes has also increased moderately, although it is still a minority position at 40 percent (up from 25 percent in 1997). “What these overall trends generally mask, however, are highly divergent trends among Republicans and Democrats. As noted above, the proportions of Democrats agreeing that global warming is already happening, that most scientists believe it is occurring, and that it poses a serious threat have increased substantially over the past decade. In contrast, the proportion of Republicans agreeing that global warming is already happening has declined a bit, while the proportions agreeing that most scientists believe global warming is occurring and that it poses a serious threat have both increased only modestly. The proportion of Republicans who believe news of global warming’s seriousness is exaggerated has grown considerably over the past decade, while the proportion of Democrats expressing this view has declined. A similar pattern of diverging partisan views has also occurred on the issue of attributing global warming to human activities.” Dunlap and McCright suggest that this skepticism among Republican and conservative elites has led rank-andfile Republicans in the electorate to follow suit.

Krosnic, Jon, Allyson Holbrook, Laura Lowe and Penny Visser 2006 “The Origins and Consequences of Democratic Citizen’s Policy Agendas: A Study of Popular Concern about Global Warming” Climate Change 77:7-43.

Stanford social psychologist Krosnic has a long history of work in this area. This paper contributes to work on the complexity of the relationship between efficacy and action regarding climate change. The authors evaluate both causes and consequences of Americans' judgments of the seriousness of global warming using data from two surveys. They find that judgments about global warming are a function of beliefs about the existence of global warming, attitudes toward it, the certainty with which these beliefs and attitudes are held. Judgments and beliefs about human responsibility for causing global warming, and people's ability to remedy it. They also find that beliefs about whether global warming is a problem are a function of relevant personal experiences (with the weather) and messages from informants (in this case, scientists), that attitudes toward global warming are a function of particular perceived consequences of global warming, and that certainty about these attitudes and beliefs is a function of knowledge and 51