NEWS

Poll: Most South Dakotans concerned by global warming

06/19/2007

Associated Press

About three-fourths of South Dakotans think global warming is somewhat serious or very serious, according to a scientific public opinion poll released by Dakota Wesleyan University.

Volunteers and students interviewed 410 South Dakotans March 18-19. The margin of sampling error was plus or minus 5 percentage points.

Thirty-five percent of respondents said global warming is a very serious problem, while 42 percent said they believe it's a somewhat serious problem, according to the poll. Seventeen percent didn't think it's a problem, and 6 percent had no opinion.

The results are nearly identical to a nationwide poll.

The DWU poll indicated 46 percent of the respondents who live west of the Missouri River think global warming is a very serious problem, while 30 percent of the East River respondents said likewise.

Don Simmons, director of the McGovern Center for Leadership and Public Service at DWU, said he was "a little surprised" at that result.

Katrina Jarding, one of the student poll coordinators, also said she was surprised. But she said it makes sense "since West River has been in drought conditions for the past five to seven years."

Half of Democrats surveyed said global warming is a problem, compared to 20 percent of Republicans viewing it as serious.