SURVEY: Californians concerned about global warming

By Brigid Gaffikin, Bay City News Service

July 28, 2006

Most Californians have a dismal outlook on the state of the environment, with the majority of survey respondents convinced that global warming already presents a serious threat to the economy and quality of life in the state and most Californians favoring political intervention to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, according to a recent survey conducted by the Public Policy Institute of California.

The survey of 2,501 adult Californian residents has an error margin of 2 percent and was conducted by telephone between July 5 and July 18, according to the PPIC.

Global warming emerged as a matter of concern to a large number of respondents, with some 63 percent saying global warming has already begun and another 23 percent agreeing that global warming would begin soon, in their lifetime or would affect future generations. Only 8 percent of respondents said global warming would never happen.

Steps to counter global warming should be taken immediately, according to 79 percent of respondents. Some 49 percent of the total surveyed saw global warming as a "very serious'' threat to California's economy and quality of life, with another 30 percent considering it a "somewhat serious'' threat.

An overwhelming majority of respondents also favored tougher air pollution standards for cars, trucks and sport utility vehicles as well as ships, trains and freight-transporting trucks, according to survey results.

Some 24 percent of respondents said air pollution and vehicle emissions were on the top of their list of environmental concerns facing California.

A total of 66 percent favored tougher air pollution standards for vehicles even if it made them more costly, according to survey results.

Environmental issues will also at least partly determine how 85 percent of likely voters cast their votes in the November gubernatorial election, according to the PPIC.

The survey was conducted with funding from The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation. Interviews were held in English, Spanish, Chinese, Vietnamese or Korean. The sampling error for subgroups is more than 2 percent.

A total of 42 percent of respondents identified as registered Democrats and 33 percent as registered Republicans, with 20 percent registered as independents and 5 percent belonging to another party. The majority of respondents, 45 percent, think of themselves as "closer to'' the Democratic Party, while 22 percent identify more closely with the Republican Party and 28 percent with neither party.

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