Husser discussed the results of the most recent Elon Poll that asked about changes in opinions about climate change in the wake of several hurricanes and storms that devastated North Carolina.
A recent Washington Post report looking at shifts in opinions about climate change drew on the insights of Jason Husser, associate professor of political science and director of the Elon University Poll.
The Oct. 18 article by reporter Tracy Jan followed extensive damage and flooding in the state from Hurricane Florence. In the wake of that storm, the Elon University Poll gauged opinions of North Carolinians about climate change and found a shift in opinions, particularly among Republicans.
From the article:
An Elon University survey taken in early October, after Florence hit, showed that 37 percent of Republicans believe global warming is “very likely” to negatively impact North Carolina coastal communities in the next 50 years. That is nearly triple the percentage of Republicans — 13 percent — who felt that way in 2017.
The percentage of Republicans who felt climate change is “not at all likely” to harm the state’s coastal communities dropped by 10 points over the past year — from 41 percent in September 2017 to 31 percent now.
“That suggests to me that there’s a very large minority within the Republican Party who are at least open to the first steps to accepting that climate change is a possibility,” said Jason Husser, a political science professor who directs the Elon poll. “It signals some sort of tipping point.”
After its publication by the Washington Post, the article was republished by a variety of media outlets around the country including the Boston Globe, the Virginian-Pilot, the Chicago Tribune, the East Bay Times and the Tampa Bay Times.
Read the entire article here.