More believe global warming on the rise

WASHINGTON -- Americans' belief in global warming is on the rise, along with temperatures and surprising weather changes, according to a new university poll.

The survey by the University of Michigan and Muhlenberg College says 62 percent of those asked in December think the Earth is getting warmer. That's up from 55 percent last spring and 58 percent in December 2010. It's the highest proportion in two years.

Nearly half the people who say they believe in global warming base it on personal observations of the weather.

Climate researchers say that's reaching the correct conclusion, for reasons that aren't quite right.

When asked an open-ended question about why they thought the Earth was warming, one-quarter of those surveyed pointed to temperatures they experience and another quarter cited other weather changes.

One in 7 mentioned melting glaciers and polar sea ice, and 1 in 8 noted media coverage. Only 8 percent mentioned scientific research.

"It seems to be driven by an increased connection that the public is making between what they see in terms of weather conditions and climate change," said Chris Borick, the director Muhlenberg College Institute of Public Opinion.

The poll was conducted Dec. 4 to 21, after the United States experienced a record 14 billion-dollar weather disasters in 2011, including killer tornadoes, an unusual northeastern hurricane, a devastating southwestern drought and floods along major rivers.

The survey of 887 people has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points.