A sliver of good news today: A new poll shows that the number of people that think global warming is caused by humans has decreased, and more people now believe that global warming is caused by natural mechanisms rather than humans.

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/01/19/report-percent-voters-blame-planetary-trends-global-warming

Forty-four percent of voters polled said global warming is the result of long-term planetary trends, according to the survey. In 2006, 35 percent agreed.

The percentage of voters who blame global warming on human activity fell to 41 percent from 46 percent. Seven percent blame other reasons and 9 percent were unsure, the survey found.

So 41% blame global warming on humans while 44% don't. Two years ago 46% thought humans were to blame and 35% didn't. I'll take full credit for that shift... just kidding. :) Seriously, though, it would seem that people have been waking up to the real truth that Al Gore's Inconvenient Truth was more of a Convenient Political Strategy.

Of course I wouldn't be surprised if these numbers change if/when President-Elect Obama and Democrats in Congress try to shift these perceptions into reverse. After all, if more people believe global warming is natural then it's less likely they'll be willing to spend lots of money on Obama's energy proposals, abandon domestic oil, and to restrict their rights through environmental legislation.

So I'm sure we can soon expect a full blown public relations campaign to further push the urgency of the global warming agenda.