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Researchers mine Twitter to reveal Congress’ ideological divide on climate change
http://www.northeastern.edu/news/2016/05/researchers-mine-twitter-to-reveal-congress-ideological-divide-on-climate-change/[font face=Serif][font size=5]Researchers mine Twitter to reveal Congress’ ideological divide on climate change[/font]
May 30, 2016 by Thea Singer
[font size=3]Does human activity drive global climate change? For members of Congress, the answer often depends on party affiliation. In general, Republicans say “nay,” Democrats “yea.”
A research team led by Brian Helmuth—professor in the College of Science and the School of Public Policy and Urban Affairs—wants to change that.
In a new paper published Monday in the journal Climate Change Responses, Helmuth and his Northeastern colleagues analyzed the Twitter accounts of U.S. senators to see which legislators followed research-oriented science organizations, including those covering global warming. Democrats, they found, were three times more likely than Republicans to follow them, leading the researchers to note that “overt interest in science may now primarily be a ‘Democrat’ value.”
Yet out of that political polarization, says Helmuth, came a ray of hope: 15 Senate Republicans bridged the aisle, displaying a draw to science and thus a way to bring scientific information to those not receiving it on their own.
…[/font][/font]
May 30, 2016 by Thea Singer
[font size=3]Does human activity drive global climate change? For members of Congress, the answer often depends on party affiliation. In general, Republicans say “nay,” Democrats “yea.”
A research team led by Brian Helmuth—professor in the College of Science and the School of Public Policy and Urban Affairs—wants to change that.
In a new paper published Monday in the journal Climate Change Responses, Helmuth and his Northeastern colleagues analyzed the Twitter accounts of U.S. senators to see which legislators followed research-oriented science organizations, including those covering global warming. Democrats, they found, were three times more likely than Republicans to follow them, leading the researchers to note that “overt interest in science may now primarily be a ‘Democrat’ value.”
Yet out of that political polarization, says Helmuth, came a ray of hope: 15 Senate Republicans bridged the aisle, displaying a draw to science and thus a way to bring scientific information to those not receiving it on their own.
…[/font][/font]