Poll Finds Most Californians Say Climate Change Linked To Drought
CBS SF Bay Area, July 29, 2015. Image credit: Don DeBold
Nearly two-thirds of Californians believe global warming is having an impact on the state’s persistent drought, sharing Gov. Jerry Brown’s environmental concerns as he presses for tougher climate change standards, according to a new statewide poll released Wednesday.
The Public Policy Institute of California found that 79 percent of residents agree that global warming is either a very serious or somewhat serious threat to California’s quality of life. And across racial groups, 69 percent of Latinos are most likely to say the effects have already begun, followed by 63 percent of blacks, 60 percent of Asians and 58 percent of whites.
A solid majority of Californians, including 63 percent of likely voters, said they favor AB32, a landmark state law that requires California to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by 2020. Polls conducted since the law passed in 2006 have shown that most Californians favor it.
Nearly 70 percent of Californians said they favor stricter limits under a new bill, SB32, which would aim to bring greenhouse gas emissions to 80 percent of 1990 levels by 2050.