Media Push Misleading FAU Poll Suggesting 9 in 10 Floridians Believe in Climate Change

BOCA RATON, FLORIDA — The Left-wing media machine pushed another misleading claim this week surrounding the ongoing debate as to whether or not human behavior is to blame for shifting climate around the world. 

Florida Atlantic University’s Center for Environmental Studies published the results of a survey conducted last month with the headline: “Floridians Believe in Climate Change and Want Government Action.”

The first bullet point listed in the executive summary declares: “There remains virtual unanimity (90 percent) among Floridians about whether or not climate change is happening. This share is consistent with our preceding 8 waves, which range from 86 percent to 92 percent.”

Several Florida media outlets ran with FAU’s misleading claim – either without checking the survey results or, like the university, deliberately omitting the key details. The Miami Herald’s article read: “Floridians believe in climate change more than other Americans. Makes sense.”

The summary omits an important clarification about the 90 percent figure – more than a third of them believe the change is not caused by human behavior. 

Survey respondents were asked broadly: “Do you think climate change is happening?” Ten percent simply said “No,” while 32.4 percent said “Yes, and it is caused largely by natural changes in the environment.” 

The dividing line in the climate change debate is whether or not human activity should be restricted to help save the planet. The term “climate change” is often used interchangeably with the view that reducing things like carbon emissions will significantly improve the environment – which is what makes the poll summary so misleading. 

The findings show a split on this core issue of the debate, with 57 percent believing man is not to blame for climate changes compared to 42 percent who disagree with that assertion – a far cry from “virtual unanimity.” In fact, the number of those who hold the former position dropped 8 points since the last time FAU conducted the poll in March. 

That sharp decline, however, is buried at the bottom of the summary’s highlights.

The press routinely blames “climate change” for a variety of natural disasters. In Florida, they are perpetuating a debunked narrative that hurricanes are intensifying due to rising sea temperatures, but storm data dating back to 1850 reveal no trend of an increase in major storms.

Scientists and weather experts who point this out are besmirched and their findings are dismissed. Organizations like Climate of Denial and DeSmog create blacklist-style profiles on any scientist willing to point out inconsistencies in the mainstream narrative.

READ MORE: Weather Channel Co-Founder Debunks Hurricane Ian Climate Change Narrative