Most Americans do not believe the argument is over about man being the cause of global warming, and still want to hear all sides of the contentious debate, according to a new poll.
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Rasmussen Reports survey discovered that only 20 percent of those surveyed believe the debate on global warming is a done deal; 48 percent feel there's still significant and important disagreement in the scientific community about the existence and cause of climate change; and 63 percent believe the debate is not over.
This flies in the face of recent decisions by the Los Angeles Times, the BBC, and other news organizations to stop running letters and commentary from those deemed to be "deniers," who feel global warming is a hoax and, if it exists at all, is not being caused by man.
"Saying there's no sign humans have caused climate change is not stating an opinion, it's asserting a factual inaccuracy,"
Paul Thornton, letters editor of the Times editorial page, told the Washington Times.
Former British chancellor
Lord Nigel Lawson, author of "An Appeal To Reason" about climate change and founder of the Global Warming Policy Foundation, has claimed that the BBC has silenced him because of pressures from renewable energy interests and the Green party, and blasted the network as "Stalinist."
The BBC replied, "Our position continues to be that we accept that there is broad scientific agreement on climate change and we reflect this accordingly. We do, however, on occasion offer space to dissenting voices where appropriate as part of the BBC's overall commitment to impartiality."
According to the Rasmussen report, 42 percent of those surveyed believe the media is responsible for making climate change appear worse than it really is, although this is a change from a 2009 poll which found that 54 percent thought the media paints a consistently dismal picture of global warming.
The response is split along party lines — 64 percent of Republicans and 45 percent of independent voters believe the media over-hypes the seriousness of climate change, while only 22 percent of Democrats agree and just 27 percent of Democrats believe the scientific debate on global warming is over.
But when it comes to the wallet, only 41 percent overall say they are willing to pony up more tax or utility expenses to fund the battle against global warming, including 23 percent who are willing to pay only $100 or less per year.
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