About 70 percent of Americans want government regulations on carbon emissions from coal-fired power plants, yet government officials are poised to roll back coal restrictions, says The New York Times, laying out public opinion on climate change in a series of maps.
Seventy-five percent of American adults also support restricting CO2 emissions generally, but politicians are wary of opposing oil and gas lobbies, as well as Tea Party activists who deny that man-made climate change is a problem. “Those are the ones who can take you out at the next primary,” said Bob Inglis, a former Republican congressman from South Carolina who lost his 2010 primary to Trey Gowdy, a Tea Party candidate who attacked Inglis over his belief in climate change.
“Just 33 percent of Americans surveyed said they discuss global warming at least occasionally with friends and family — and 31 percent said they never do. But there are distinct regional patterns,” says the Times. “In the American West, much of which has been affected by drought and wildfires, residents are more likely to talk about climate change. New England states, and not just the liberals of Massachusetts and Vermont, talk more about climate, as well, along with coastal South Carolina, which lies in the path of many hurricanes.”