Globally, 2016 was the warmest year on record, surpassing records set in 2015 and 2014,1 and each new record emphasizes the longer-term upward trend. …
Though climate change received little media attention during the 2016 presidential campaign, recent surveys indicate that climate change and related energy issues are taken seriously by a growing majority of the public. An example is shown in Figure 1, which charts responses to climate-change and renewable-energy questions from a post-election Polar, Environment, and Science (POLES) survey carried out by Carsey School researchers in November–December 2016. …
Only 25 percent of those who say they voted for Trump agree with the scientific consensus that human activities are changing Earth’s climate. In contrast, large majorities not only of Clinton voters but also of third-party voters and nonvoters agree with this view. CONT.
Lawrence Hamilton, U. of New Hampshire
