In a new Pew Research Center survey the economy ranks as American's number-one priority while addressing global warming makes the bottom of the list. Protecting the environment also took a big hit, as 56 percent said it was a top priority last year, compared to 41 percent this year.
In general, Americans want President Obama to fix problems inside US borders instead of focusing on foreign policy. A year ago, 56 percent said Bush should focus on domestic policy, while 31 percent said foreign policy was more important. Today, 71 percent think domestic policy is most important, compared to 11 percent who favor foreign policy.
While worrying about the environment, or other big-picture problems, can seem like a luxury when we're facing a pressing crisis, hopefully leaders will keep an eye on the long-term consequences of all policies. Do you think Americans have their priorities straight?
Mulberry
Liz Claiborne
True Religion
If we do the right things on energy which is a high priority, we'll be helping the environment anyway.
1Sounds like we've got our priorities straight.
2It's sad to me that terrorism is number 3 on the list. It does tell me that the terrorism fear-mongers are doing a better job than the global warming fear-mongers.
3"Sounds like we've got our priorities straight."
That's what I was going to say.
4And mich,
5Thats true mich! I was thinking the same thing.
Considering that the words "global warming" haven't been thrown around as much as "climate change" I see how its on the bottom of that list.
6That is so sad..without a healthy Earth to live on...none of those things matter much.
7I'm glad to see the GWT or GCC at the bottom. Maybe soon it will disappear completely, like right before the next ice age.
8Someday, many years from now, our greatgrandchildren will shake their poor heads about how we, at a turning point in human history, focused on our relatively petty cares--and threw our progeny to the dogs.
9I'm always perplexed at how education is never #1. It's no surprise either that global warming is not mid to top list because in the average Joe & Josephines eyes it is not an acute experience for them. Humans react when there's fire under their @$$ (which is where the economy is now) it's just how we're wired. You take some one out of the crowd give them a great job pay all their bills then take them around the world for eighty days and show them what's happening to the planet and I'll be damned guess what's at the top of their list becuase it's before their eyes and it has become an acute experience.
10And what is happening to the planet? The sea ice is at levels equal to that of the early 90's, and the northern US has experienced one of the coldest winters in the last 30 years.
11LMAO! How did I know it would be you Undave. I gotta hand it to you you're consistant.
12Ice levels are not what they should be and weather paterns have been effected in turn. Rain fall is not what it should be and certain species are reacting to the difference by simply vanising in some cases out of their indiginous areas not necessarily going exticnt. Don't you watch National Geo, History, Animal Planet, TLC & PBS? Things are changing and in the long run meaning decades down the road these changes are projected to cause some serious problems.
13How come "clean the grime from behind my toilet" is not on that list? You know 95% of Americans have that on their to do -both personal and National to do lists.
14EEEWWW! That is something I definitaly clean honey. I can't stand an untidy toilet area. When I go to public restrooms if someone peed all over everything I'll clean it up cause I don't want the next person to think I did it, lol.
15Hypno, I wish you used the ladies room!!
16Hey sometimes the girls invite me over, lol.
17I think it's pathetic that dealing with lobbyism ranks higher than dealing with our planet.
18Mich, I totally agree with you. The effort that's put into making America's afraid of terrorist trumps the effort put into informing people about probably all those out issues.
Sad.
19How does "Moral Decline" even make the list? And whose bias and subjective are we going by? Mine, yours, the Pope or the Easter Bunny...
20All these things are somewhat related, don't you thinnk?
21"When I go to public restrooms if someone peed all over everything I'll clean it up cause I don't want the next person to think I did it, lol. ""
Hypno..I do that too!! How funny. The hover women just pee all over the seat, then leave. And I am so, for some unknown reason, afraid someone will think it was me and that I am nasty! The things we choose to be neurotic about...
22I want to use this quote from Thomas Friedman's latest: Climate-change deniers are like the person who goes to the doctor for a diagnosis, and the doctor tells him, "If you don't stop smoking, there is a 90 percent chance you will die of lung cancer," the patient replies: "Oh, doctor, you mean you are not 100 percent sure? Then I will keep on smoking."
Also, FYI people sometimes use climate change as a term for the global warming phenomenon because all facets of the climate are changing (i.e. temperatures, weather patterns, precipitation, etc). The term global warming doesn't capture all that. I know you guys have a problem with people going back and forth, even though it really means the same thing.
23Al Gore is clearly dropping the ball here. At least he can always fall back on warning us about manbearpig.
24I'm not too concerned about lobbyists, global warming can come before that at least. And health care should rank higher. I'm not too concerned about terrorism either.
25And I would like to add that we should concentrate on something more tangible than moral decline. That's kinda hard to measure
26And Cally, it's been my experience that when that person does get lung cancer, they whine the loudest about how unfair life is.
27I think we have our priorities straight. We're not going to be able to do the world a lot of good if we're going down the toilet domestically. As for taking care of the environment, I don't think it necessarily means people aren't still doing it...it just means it's not the first thing on their minds. It seems to me that more people are recycling, buying fuel-economic cars, carpooling, getting the greener household items etc.
28
this is why it was a poll, different people have different priorities.... 30% of people
rated global warming as a top priority...41% said environment was a top priority. That's pretty damn good. You cannot expect someone who is poor and getting kicked out of their house at this
moment to really give a sh!t about global warming. That's absurd.
29And people are concerned about a moral decline, and no there isn't a scientific standard for what is moral, it is their own belief. Some of the people that said that may not like that b!tch is allowed on the tv and radio. That is a moral decline. It is hard to tech you kids to be moral when everyone is making immorality so normal. And it is a concern. Who are you to minimize it?
M3!! Long time no see!
30"And Cally, it's been my experience that when that person does get lung cancer, they whine the loudest about how unfair life is."
31Yeah, stupid annoying CANCER patients.
32That's a fairly well-ordered list.
33"Ice levels are not what they should be and weather paterns have been effected in turn. Rain fall is not what it should be and certain species are reacting to the difference by simply vanising in some cases out of their indiginous areas not necessarily going exticnt."
What level should they be? With the earth being cyclicle, means that some years (decades), the levels will be lower than others, and higher than others as well.
"Don't you watch National Geo, History, Animal Planet, TLC & PBS? Things are changing and in the long run meaning decades down the road these changes are projected to cause some serious problems."
Yes I watch 3 of those channels (Not much into Animal Planet, andPBS). I also watch the Discovery channel. There was a great program talking about the ice ages, and about predicting the next one. According to the person being interviewed, an ice age of some sort happens every 500 - 750 years, and a major one occurs every 26,000 years. He said that the cause of the ice age has more to do with the tilt (wobble) of the earth, and distances from the sun. I found it interesting that he projected the beginning of the next ice age to be around 2025. Just far enough out to be looming, but not exactely close.
34Health care should be higher on the list. We live in a country where the amount of money you have can determine whether you live or die. Health care and the economy are linked.
35I'm pretty sure Steph was talking about people who insist on smoking while ignoring the health concerns that go along with smoking. Not, like, little children who have leukemia through no fault of their own.
36Thanks Em - I would have thought the reference to Cally made that clear.
37I would have thought someone with so much compassion for terrorists would have the same compassion for cancer patients, that's all. And I completely understood what she was saying about smoking causing the cancer.
38While I understand why some would put global warming low on the to-do list (hello scr*wed economy) it isn't difficult to make small changes that result in a large impact. Therefor, it shouldn't have to come close to last. People are passing this issue down to the next generation which, by that time, will be worsened and have more difficulties reversing. Others need to realize that some steps to a better earth are quite simple and do not need to be put off.
39So, in ten years when the temps are cooler than normal, will you GWT alarmists be taking credit for that, even if we as a world have done nothing to stop or reverse GWT? Because so far, the temperatures have been going in the opposite direction of that hockeystick graph that bearpigman presented us.
40UnDave, I want to respond to several of your statements. First, you are absolutely correct that weather and climate cycles are affected by the variability in the earth's orbit, or periodic processes called Milankovitch cycles. However, according to analysis on ice core data going back 670,000 years, the average temperature of the earth has varied by around 6 degrees centigrade. Yes, the cycles do cause some of the variability, depending on how close or far away we are tilted from the sun, etc, but the variability that is caused by these cycles is not large enough to account for the entire 6 degrees. If you (or anyone else) would like, I could go into how the change in distance to the sun affects release of carbon dioxide from the oceans, affecting the temperature cycles, etc, giving more proof for this point
41Second, you spoke about temperatures getting cooler. I don't know if you mean in general it is colder because it is winter or if the average temperature on a certain day is colder than last year. Either way, when we speak about the earth getting warmer, we mean the average temperature of the earth. Therefore, some places may get colder, but others will compensate by getting substantially warmer. I won't pretend to be an expert on this topic because it is very complex, but I just wanted to clear up a couple of things.
I wish new jersey would get warmer..just for a likkle bit.
42UnDave I actually agree with some of your points but your points don't counter my points. Unless you've had your eyes closed when they show photos of Greenland & the Actic from space or scientists walking down black sand beaches in Antarctica where there should be an ice shelf there is an unusual and unexpected acceleration going on with this process. The process however accelerated by natural standards is still slow enough to go unnoticed unless your someone who studies it and will play out it's effect over decades and decades.
43UnDave It's ManBearPig.
44Huh. Mmmkay.
45I'm kinda proud that global warming made the list. Everything else is something real. It's the only fairy tale that made it up there. Bravo!
46"And people are concerned about a moral decline, and no there isn't a scientific standard for what is moral, it is their own belief. Some of the people that said that may not like that b!tch is allowed on the tv and radio. That is a moral decline. It is hard to tech you kids to be moral when everyone is making immorality so normal. And it is a concern. Who are you to minimize it?"
That is exactly my point Hainan. How can you address something as a country that is so subjective? What if I felt strongly that women wearing skirts above their knees and bathing suits constituted as moral decline? The belief that moral decline exists, so does the belief that morality is on the rise. It depends on who you are and what your beliefs are. I just don't understand how moral decline made a poll for America's 'To-Do List'.
47I prefer to have discussions with people like UnDave who at least elaborate on their opinions. Beavis, saying that global warming is a fairy tale is not really bringing anyone to your side unless you back it up with facts or quotes from peer reviewed journals.
48I'm not trying to bring anyone to my side. It's clear that facts don't sway environmentalists, so I see no point in the time and effort.
49Jessie- to do list is Citizens words. The survey just asked people to name their top priorities. One thing we could do is to stop normalizing single motherhood. Stop normalizing teen pregnancy, stop normalizing abortion. Stop normalizing people booing our president. When rioting happens, don't make an excuse for it. When someone steals from walmart, don't say it is walmarts fault. There are many things we could do, leading by example would be a great start. Our elected officials SHOULD make statements about situation that get public attention. Instead of being afraid that if they do they won't get elected.
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