The Daily Background

From the Field & Stream outdoorsman magazine blog:

A survey recently conducted for the National Wildlife Federation shows an overwhelming majority of hunters and fishermen agree with the consensus in the scientific community that global warming is real, that it already is eroding their quality of life, and that it poses a definite threat to the future of two things they love: fish and wildlife.

Note that this was not a poll of liberal-leaning sportsmen; 73 percent of respondents consider themselves conservative to moderate on political issues. The survey was conducted by the research firm Responsive Management, whose client list includes numerous fish and game agencies and the National Shooting Sports Foundation.

It’s important to note that second paragraph. It almost makes me want to quote Al Gore; “this is not a political issue, this is a moral issue.” Only 11% of respondents to the poll disagree that global warming is occurring according to the poll. And keep in mind, this is a poll among mostly conservative people. What separates these people from normal conservatives who generally don’t believe in global warming? These guys spend a lot of time outside in nature.

The majority of outdoorsmen polled (although one fourth of respondents were women) observed eight specific conditions changing in their local habitat (this was a nation-wide poll, so it’s not a fluke), like earlier springs, hotter summers, less snow, and drying wetlands– and felt that it was likely they could be attributed to global warming. A majority of those polled also agreed that global warming is caused by human behavior, more agreed that it was a threat to humans, and even more consider the phenomena a ’serious threat’ to fish and wildlife.

The vast majority of respondents (78%) agree that in order to fight global warming, the United States should “reduce its emissions of greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide.” Great news here. It should also be noted that 50% of those responding consider themselves evangelical Christians.

I am of the mind that an effective public opinion campaign raising awareness about global warming could be done, elevating socially conservative hunters or fishers and featuring their concerns about the environment.

Filed under: Environment Related, Z-TDB Blog