Americans Fear Climate Change and the Cost of Fighting It
Concern is one thing. Paying the price of eliminating fossil fuels is another.
Hey buddy, can you spare a quarter?
Photographer: Daniel Acker/BloombergMore people are coming around to the idea that climate change is really bad news. A recent Washington Post poll found that 38% of Americans now consider climate change a crisis, with another 38% calling it a major problem. And denialism is in retreat -- an overwhelming majority, and even 60% of Republicans, admit that the problem is manmade.
The question is what Americans would be willing to do to tackle the problem. The same poll found that only 37% believed that major sacrifices would be necessary, with 48% saying they would be minor. As for what sort of sacrifices people are willing to make, the poll found majorities opposing even minor financial burdens on the middle class: