Japanese Wary of Nuclear Energy
While Japanese prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda has been trying to persuade local communities it is safe to restart two nuclear reactors, 70% of Japanese say their country should reduce its reliance on nuclear energy.
Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World
While Japanese prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda has been trying to persuade local communities it is safe to restart two nuclear reactors, 70% of Japanese say their country should reduce its reliance on nuclear energy.
Support for the increased use of nuclear power has declined amid the ongoing nuclear emergency in Japan. But with the surge in gas prices, support for increased offshore oil and gas drilling is growing.
A majority of Americans say the earth is warming, but far fewer than said so in 2006. The decline has come mostly from Republicans, and very few Tea Party supporters say there is solid evidence of global warming. Also, the public is divided on the question of whether scientists themselves agree that the earth is warming.
Americans want expanded exploration and development of coal, oil and gas in the U.S. but also want limits on carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions. Michele Obama’s favorability stays strong but the president’s and Sarah Palin’s popularity slip.
Why do fewer Americans believe the earth is warming? A range of possibilities, including a sour economy and, perhaps, a cooler than normal summer in parts of the U.S., may provide an explanation.
While most Americans approve of laws that say treatment can be stopped if that’s what a terminally ill patient desires, they are split on what they would do personally in that situation. Only 27% have put into writing their own wishes regarding end-of-life care.
A new survey of scientists and the public finds large majorities holding positive views of science. But scientists are concerned about Americans’ ignorance of scientific findings and large differences exist between the two groups’ views on evolution and global warming. Still, overwhelming percentages in both groups think that government investments in science and technology pay off in the long run.
Opinion polls over the past two decades have found the American public deeply divided — and confused — in its beliefs about the origins and development of life on earth.
Two experts — a geneticist and a religion writer and correspondent — discuss why they believe the current perceived conflict between evolution and faith is unnecessary and destructive.
Just as concern about energy dependence has become widespread, so too have unfavorable views of Russia and its Prime Minister Putin.
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