Americans support actions to limit warming, support civil resistance, support political action

Dear Friends, Today we are releasing the fourth report from our latest national survey. In Americans’ Actions to Limit Global Warming, we report that millions of Americans are willing to join a campaign to convince elected officials to reduce global warming. Specifically: Three in ten (29%) have joined or would join a campaign to convince elected officials to take action to reduce global warming. Nearly four in ten (36%) have joined or would join a campaign to convince elected officials to pass laws increasing energy efficiency and the use of renewable energy as a way to reduce America’s dependence on fossil fuels. About half of Americans (53%) say they would sign a petition about global warming if asked by a person they “like and respect.” About four in ten say that, if asked, they would sign a pledge to vote only for political candidates that share their views on global warming (39%), attend a neighborhood meeting to discuss global warming and actions people can take (38%), or attend a public meeting or presentation about global warming (38%). One in four Americans would support an organization engaging in non-violent civil disobedience against corporate or government activities that make global warming worse (24%), and about one in six (17%) say they would personally engage in such activities. The survey also found that many Americans have already or are willing to engage in purposeful consumer activism: Three in ten (29%) say that, in the past 12 months, they have rewarded companies that are taking steps to reduce global warming by buying their products. About one in four (24%) report that in the past 12 months they have punished companies that are opposing steps to reduce global warming by not purchasing their products.  About half of Americans (48%) say that they intend to engage in consumer activism over the next 12 months – rewarding companies by buying their products and/or punishing companies by not buying their products – based on whether or not companies have taken steps to reduce global warming.  The report includes measures of Americans’ conservation of energy at home and on the road and communication behavior with family and friends. It also includes an Executive Summary and the results broken down by Global Warming’s Six Americas. It can be downloaded here: Americans’ Actions to Limit Global Warming I’ll be back in touch soon with our next report on The Politics of Global Warming Among the American Public. As always, thanks for your support and interest in our work! Cheers, Tony