Tea Party Steeped in Global Warming Doubt

The Tea Party movement is highly skeptical of the threat posed by—and, in some cases, the existence of—global warming, finds a New York Times/CBS poll. Just 14% of Tea Partiers believe warming is currently taking effect, as opposed to 49% of the rest of Americans. More than 50% of the movement doesn’t think global warming will ever pose serious danger.

Some 8% of Tea Partiers don’t believe global warming even exists—a view shared by just 1% of non-movement responders. Such doubt is a factor in the midterm elections: 19 of 20 Republicans in contested races aren’t convinced by global warming science and oppose major legislation to address it, the Times notes. “It’s a flat-out lie,” said one Tea Party leader. “I read my Bible. He made this earth for us to utilize.”
(More Tea Party stories.)