Karen Feridun, co-founder of the Better Path Coalition, left, and Greg Schwedock, head of product and technology
of Climate Clock, unveil the climate clock that will sit at the capitol for the rest of the legislative session. The clock was unveiling at a Pennsylvania Climate Convergence press conference in the East Wing of the Capitol complex on Monday, June 13, 2022
Jeremy Long / WITF
Poll: 75% of Pennsylvanians accept evidence of climate change
Rachel McDevitt reports on energy, the environment, and climate change for StateImpact Pennsylvania at WITF.
Rachel covers Pennsylvania state government’s policy on climate change, its effects on people, and lawmakers’ approach to the industries that generate many of Pennsylvania’s greenhouse gas emissions. Her work through the collaborative Climate Solutions puts special focus on communities and individuals working to address the effects of climate disruption.
Her stories have aired nationally on the NPR shows Morning Edition, All Things Considered, Weekend Edition, and Science Friday.
Rachel joined WITF in 2014 as a Radio Pennsylvania reporter before becoming the local host of All Things Considered in 2017. The western Pennsylvania native started her journalism career with the CBS affiliate in Bridgeport, West Virginia. Rachel holds a degree in Communications and Spanish from Temple University.
Jeremy Long / WITF
Karen Feridun, co-founder of the Better Path Coalition, left, and Greg Schwedock, head of product and technology
of Climate Clock, unveil the climate clock that will sit at the capitol for the rest of the legislative session. The clock was unveiling at a Pennsylvania Climate Convergence press conference in the East Wing of the Capitol complex on Monday, June 13, 2022
A new statewide poll shows three quarters of Pennsylvanians accept that global warming is happening.
It’s the highest level of acceptance since Muhlenberg College pollsters started asking the question 15 years ago.
The poll included more than 400 people statewide and has a margin of error of 5.5 percent.
More than half of respondents said climate change is a very serious problem, while another quarter said it was somewhat serious.
Fifty-five percent of those surveyed said human activity is the main driver of global warming. Another 24 percent said it was a combination of human activity and natural patterns.
Scientists who worked on the United Nations’ climate reports say humans are indisputably causing climate change.
The Muhlenberg College poll found feelings on global warming remain partisan. Ninety-two percent of Democrats polled said there is solid evidence for climate change, while only 45 percent of Republicans agreed.
Though global climate experts say the world must dramatically cut greenhouse gas emissions to avoid the worst effects of warming, the poll found people statewide are divided on fracking.
Natural gas drilling can release methane during the process. Burning gas produces carbon dioxide.
Forty-eight percent of those polled said they support extraction, while 44 percent are opposed.
The share of people who said drilling will bring more benefits to Pennsylvania has fallen ten percentage points since 2012, to 44 percent. Four in ten said it will bring more problems for the state, up ten percent since 2012.
Most respondents, 86 percent, said fracking is very or somewhat important to Pennsylvania’s economy.
StateImpact Pennsylvania is a collaboration among WITF, WHYY, and the Allegheny Front. Reporters Reid Frazier, Rachel McDevitt and Susan Phillips cover the commonwealth’s energy economy. Read their reports on this site, and hear them on public radio stations across Pennsylvania.
Climate Solutions, a collaboration of news organizations, educational institutions and a theater company, uses engagement, education and storytelling to help central Pennsylvanians toward climate change literacy, resilience and adaptation. Our work will amplify how people are finding solutions to the challenges presented by a warming world.