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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2017 Jul 17.
Published in final edited form as: J Public Econ. 2016 Oct 27;144:91–108. doi: 10.1016/j.jpubeco.2016.10.004

Figure 1.

Figure 1

Trends in public beliefs about climate change in the US

Notes: Series “warming has begun” is from Saad (2013). The series shows the share of respondents replying “they have already begun to happen” in response to the question “Which of the following statements reflects your view of when the effects of global warming will begin to happen? (i) they have already begun to happen, (ii) they will start happening within a few years, (iii) they will start happening within your lifetime, (iv) they will not happen within your lifetime, but they will affect future generations, or (v) they will never happen.” Series “solid evidence” is from the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press (2013). Studies used are the June News Interest/Believability Survey (June 2006), the July Religion and Public Life Survey (July 2006), the January News Interest Index Survey (January 2007), the April Political Survey (April 2008), the October Political Survey (October 2009, October 2010, and October 2012), the March Political Typology Survey (March 2011), the November Religion and Politics Survey (November 2011), and the March Political Survey (March 2013). The series shows the share of respondents replying “yes” to the question “From what you’ve read and heard, is there solid evidence that the average temperature on earth has been getting warmer over the past few decades, or not?” Series “scientists believe” is from Nisbet and Myers (2007) and Saad (2013). The series shows the share of respondents replying “most scientists believe that global warming is occurring” in response to the question “On the environmental issue known as global warming, just your impression, which one of the following statements do you think is most accurate: (i) most scientists believe that global warming is occurring, (ii) most scientists believe that global warming is not occurring, or (iii) most scientists are unsure about whether global warming is occurring or not?” Series “scientists agree” is from the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press (2013). Studies used are the Religion and Public Life Survey (July 2006), the April General Public Science Survey (April 2009), and the October Political Survey (October 2010 and October 2012). The series shows the share of respondents replying “yes” to the question “From what you’ve heard or read, is there general agreement among scientists that the earth is getting warmer because of human activity, or not?”