Settled Science?

by McQ | December 4, 2009 6:46 am

According to Rasumssen, when it come to the topic global warming a majority of Americans[1] don’t believe that to be true:

Most Americans (52%) believe that there continues to be significant disagreement within the scientific community over global warming.

While many advocates of aggressive policy responses to global warming say a consensus exists, the latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that just 25% of adults think most scientists agree on the topic. Twenty-three percent (23%) are not sure.

That, of course, is a direct refutation of a statement by presidential spokesman Robert Gibbs:

“I don’t think … [global warming] is quite, frankly, among most people, in dispute anymore.”

Additionally, the majority of Americans are skeptical of the efficacy of climate scientists data – and this is not a result of Climaquiddick:

Fifty-nine percent (59%) of Americans say it’s at least somewhat likely that some scientists have falsified research data to support their own theories and beliefs about global warming. Thirty-five percent (35%) say it’s Very Likely. Just 26% say it’s not very or not at all likely that some scientists falsified data.

This skepticism does not appear to be the result of the recent disclosure of e-mails confirming such data falsification as part of the so-called “Climategate” scandal. Just 20% of Americans say they’ve followed news reports about those e-mails Very Closely, while another 29% have followed them Somewhat Closely.

It will be interesting to see what Climaquiddick does to those numbers, especially since the scandal seems to have spread to NASA here.

Rasmussen’s poll contradicts the myths of scientific consensus or “settled science”. Additionally, it points out that not only are the majority of Americans skeptical of the science, but given the recent scandal, that percentage is likely to grow.

[Crossposted at QandO[2]]