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| Photo: Matt Black for the New York Times |
According to a poll conducted last month by The New York Times, Stanford University and the nonpartisan environmental research group Resources for the Future, Hispanics are more likely than non-Hispanic whites to view global warming as a problem that affects them personally.
It also found that they are more likely to support policies, such as taxes and regulations on greenhouse gas pollution, aimed at curbing it, the Times reported yesterday.
"The findings in the poll could have significant implications for the 2016 presidential campaign as both parties seek to win votes from Hispanics, particularly in states like Florida and Colorado that will be influential in determining the outcome of the election. The poll also shows the challenge for the potential Republican presidential candidates — including two Hispanics — many of whom question or deny the scientific basis for the finding that humans caused global warming.
"Among Hispanic respondents to the poll, 54 percent rated global warming as extremely or very important to them personally, compared with 37 percent of whites. Sixty-seven percent of Hispanics said they would be hurt personally to a significant degree if nothing was done to reduce global warming, compared with half of whites.
"And 63 percent of Hispanics said the federal government should act broadly to address global warming, compared with 49 percent of whites.
"A greater percentage of Hispanics than whites identify as Democrats, and Democrats are more likely than Republicans and independents to say that the government should fight climate change. In the poll, 48 percent of Hispanics identified as Democrats, 31 percent as independents and 15 percent as Republicans. Among whites, 23 percent identified as Democrats, 41 percent as independents and 27 percent as Republicans.
"Over all, the findings of the poll run contrary to a longstanding view in politics that the environment is largely a concern of affluent, white liberals."
