Worldwide polls about climate change

Publics want more government action on climate change: Global poll. (July 29, 2009)

This poll was conducted by the World Public Opinion survey in more than 20 countries/ regions including Taiwan, Mid-East countries, African countries, as well as the US and Europe. The percentages of public reaction to the level of government action needed vary. On average, the world publics think the government should place high priority when dealing with climate change, with a score of 7.33 on a 0-10 scale. The reaction of Taiwanese people is slightly higher than the average, whereas the Americans scored the lowest among the countries surveyed. People from Mexico (9.09), China (8.86), and Turkey (8.34) are among the highest-scoring countries.

Data set and documentation are available from DRUM.

Awareness of climate change and threat vary by region. (Dec. 11, 2009)

This poll was conducted by Gallup in 128 countries. However, it is a pity that this poll asked only two questions--awareness and threat. Data may be available upon request.

Multi-Country Poll Reveals That Majority of People Want Action on Climate Change, Even if it Entails Costs

[Abstract from DRUM]
A new poll of 15 nations, most of them in the developing world, finds that majorities of the people canvassed want their governments to take steps to fight climate change, even if that entails costs. People signaled they would support public measures to limit greenhouse gas emissions and step up adaptation measures. For example, respondents would support higher fuel efficiency standards for cars, preserving or expanding forests, and extending funding to vulnerable countries so they can develop hardier crops suited to more severe climates.

World publics willing to bear costs of combating climate change (Oct. 11, 2006)

This poll included five countries--Australia, India, China, South Korea, and the US. This poll also asked only two questions: 1) whether global warming is a critical threat, and 2) whether the government should take steps even if it involves costs.

[Abstract from survey report]
Climate change is seen as among the most important international issues by large numbers of those polled around the world. Sixty-eight percent of Australians call global warming a “critical threat” to their country’s “vital interests.” About the same proportion (67%) of South Koreans call it a critical threat, putting it at the top of their list of key challenges. Nearly half of the Chinese (47%) call the issue critical, making it number three on their list. For Indians (51%) and Americans (47%), global warming is around the middle of the list of 13 possible threats. Substantial numbers also consider it to be an “important” threat.

International Data Bank

Gallup International Polls

World Public Opinion

Data can be downloaded from DRUM maintained by the University of Maryland

Pew Global Attitudes Projects

ASEP/ JDS

dataset sources

A nice website from NCSU that collects many sources of datasets.

1. Gallup Poll News Service & Gallup Poll Tuesday Briefing
2. Lexis-Nexis Navigation
3. The Odum Institute for Research in the Social Sciences
4. Pew Research Center for the People & the Press
5. Roper Center Public Opinion Archives
6. ICPSR

Powerpoint poster template

I need to make two posters to a conference in the near future and am therefore looking for good templates for me to use. Here are some nice sites that I bump into online.

1. Posterpresentation.com



2.Genigraphics

Policy and public opinion

Page, B. I., & Shapiro, R. Y. (1983). Effects of public opinion on policy. The American Political Science Review, 77(1), 175-190.

Just come across this article and think it is a good reference for arguments that link public opinion with policy making.

Another related article is: Page, B. I., & Shapiro, R. Y. (1982). Changes in Americans' policy preferences, 1935-1979. Public Opinion Quarterly, 46(1), 24.

ELSI

ELSI represents Ethical, Legal, and Social Implications for nanotechnology. This is an important field of research in public understanding of science in general, and nanotechnology in particular. Scientists and policy-makers nowadays have recognized the need to connect with the general public. Science and technology, after all, is not something happening only in the laboratory. It has pivotal impacts on human life and the society.

Nanotechnology is not only considered to be able to alter "human characteristics," it can also bring about potential dangers that are unknown at the current state of scientific knowledge. Furthermore, it challenges people's deep-rooted beliefs about life and nature. In other words, to the general public, nanotechnology is not just a scientific issue, it is also a social issue which lends relevance to everyday life.

The book Societal Implications of Nanosciences and Nanotechnology was published in 2001 and derived from a workshop sponsored by National Science Foundation (NSF). It addresses the need and efforts to understand the relationship between human, the environment, society, and the technology.

Excerpts of book chapters can also be found here.

Gallup polls about religion and moral attitudes

just come across some nice poll data about how religiosity affects public perception of morally-loaded issues, such as stem cell research, abortion, homosexuality, etc. There are also some interesting international stuff.

1. Stem Cell Research Morally OK in Britain, Canada, and U.S.

This article indicated that stem cell research is in general deemed morally acceptable in the three countries. However, Americans are more likely than people in the other two countries to find the research unacceptable. This disparity was attributable to the varied roles of religiosity in these countries. Americans consider God to be important and go to church more often than Canadians and the British. And this central role of religion makes Americans more likely to make a connection between morality and controversial scientific/technological issues.

2. Worlds Apart: Religion in Canada, Britain, U.S.

This poll also painted a more religious public in the US. Americans not only go to church more often, but also more likely to say God is very important in their lives. Please also see a related survey: Most Britons, Canadians "Unchurched"

3. Moral issues

This poll tracks public evaluation on the state of moral values across time. In general, people are not satisfied with the current condition of moral values--more people consider it to be poor than good or excellent (a difference of 28%) in 2009. This disparity has remained since 2006. However, it should be noted that in 2009 a lot more Americans, compared with previous years, feel the condition of moral values is getting better. This poll also showed public perception of moral acceptability in relation to several social issues.