Here’s how Great Lakes residents view climate change

Stanford University recently conducted nationwide public opinion surveys about climate change. Among other questions, respondents were asked if global warming had been happening and if they believed the government should regulate greenhouse gas emissions.

One might assume that these numbers, wherever they may fall, would be fairly close together. But that wasn’t the case.

Strangely enough, there were instances of states with noticeable disparities – people who want greenhouse gases regulated but don’t believe they cause climate change, and people who believe in climate change but do not want to regulate greenhouse gas emissions.

The Great Lakes states were no exception:

• Ohio believes strongly in regulating greenhouse gases, but not so much in what they’re doing to the environment. At 75 percent, Ohio tied Idaho for the lowest percent of residents who believe global warming is happening. Yet Ohio had one of the highest numbers of residents who wanted government regulations, at 83 percent.
• Wisconsin was the other Great Lakes state echoing that sentiment, with 79 percent of respondents believing in climate change and 86 percent wanting the government to regulate greenhouse gas emissions.
• Minnesota and Pennsylvania both showed the highest disparities, both at 11 percentage points. In Minnesota, 82 percent of respondents believed in climate change, but only 71 percent were in favor of government regulations on greenhouse gases. Pennsylvania’s numbers were 79 percent and 68 percent, respectively.

Here are all of the percentages (from highest to lowest) of people in each Great Lakes state who answered “yes” to the question: Has global warming been happening?

New York — 84 percent
Minnesota — 82 percent
Illinois — 82 percent
Indiana — 79 percent
Pennsylvania — 79 percent
Wisconsin — 79 percent
Michigan — 77 percent
Ohio — 75 percent

Here are the percentages (from highest to lowest) of people in each Great Lakes state who answered “yes” to the question: Should government limit greenhouse gas emissions from U.S. businesses?

Wisconsin — 86 percent
Ohio — 83 percent
New York — 79 percent
Illinois — 77 percent
Indiana — 73 percent
Michigan — 70 percent
Minnesota — 71 percent
Pennsylvania — 68 percent

To look at any state’s answers to these and similar questions click here for the full report. Data is unavailable for Alaska, Hawaii, North Dakota, Wyoming, and the District of Columbia.