Taking the temperature: precursor to the American Forum

The percent of people who say that global warming is a “very serious problem” has fallen from 44 percent of all Americans in April 2008 to 35 percent in October 2009, according to a Pew Research poll, released Oct. 22, 2009.

Despite the overall decrease in concern, 46 percent of people between the ages of 18 and 29 say that global warming is a very serious problem. This is up from 41 percent in April ’08, according to the October 2009 poll. This demographic is the only one that shows an increase in concern over global warming.

Among political parties, Democrats show the most concern over global warming, with 75 percent saying that it is a serious problem. This is down from 91 percent in 2006. Only 35 percent of Republicans believe it is an issue, down from 59 percent in ’06, according to the Pew poll.

Seventeen percent of Americans say that global warming is not a problem at all, up from 11 percent in ’06, the Pew poll said.

In a December 2009 Washington Post – ABC News poll, 45 percent of those surveyed said they approved of how President Barack Obama handles global warming. That is down from 54 percent in June 2009 and 61 percent in April 2009.

With the American Forum coming up on Tuesday, Feb. 9, Professor Hall's Advanced Reporting class collected opinions about climate change from around the East Coast.  The forum's topic will be on climate change and it will take place from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m. at the Katzen Arts Center on the American University Campus.

Take a look at what some students have to say:

Flash package created by Joseph Liu