Americans increasingly see climate change as a crisis, poll shows
A growing number of Americans describe climate change as a crisis, and two-thirds say President Trump is doing too little to tackle the problem.
The results, from a poll conducted by The Washington Post and the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF), point to a growing disconnect between Americans worried about the warming planet and Trump administration officials, who have aggressively scaled back Obama-era environmental regulations and relinquished the nation’s role as a global leader in pushing for climate action.
The poll finds that a strong majority of Americans — about 8 in 10 — say that human activity is fueling climate change, and roughly half believe action is urgently needed within the next decade if humanity is to avert its worst effects. Nearly 4 in 10 now say climate change is a “crisis,” up from less than a quarter five years ago.
“I am deathly afraid, not for my kids, but for my kids’ kids and what they will have to deal with,” said Mechaella DeRicci, 50, a respiratory care practitioner in Bristol, Conn. “What are we leaving as a legacy besides a hot mess?” [Continue reading…]