"Californians’ Global Warming Fervor Cools"

"Californians' eagerness to battle global warming seems to be cooling a bit: The latest survey on the state's environmental attitudes, released on Wednesday, showed that 47 percent consider the threat of global warming very serious, a decline of seven percentage points from two years ago.

Two-thirds of Californians now support the 2006 Global Warming Solutions Act, the landmark 2006 legislation requiring the state to slash its greenhouse gas emissions -- down from 78 percent two years ago.

Still, 61 percent of Californians say the effects of global warming are already occurring, only a slight decline from last year's 64 percent, and above the 53 percent in the rest of the country, as measured in a March Gallup poll.

And when it comes to old-fashioned air pollution, just 23 percent of residents think that's a big problem, a drop of 11 percentage points from last year. California is home to two of the most polluted regions in the country -- the Inland Empire east of Los Angeles and the agricultural Central Valley.

The annual survey on Californians and the environment was conducted by the Public Policy Institute of California, with support from the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation."

Felicity Barringer reports for the New York Times July 30, 2009.