Romney climate views examined in science debate

Public opinion experts seem divided on whether Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney's views on climate science -- released in an online forum's "debate" between the candidates -- represent a moderation of his views on global warming.

January–July 2012 Blended Land and Sea Surface Temperature Anomalies in degrees Celsius

CAPTION

NOAA

"I am not a scientist myself, but my best assessment of the data is that the world is getting warmer, that human activity contributes to that warming, and that policymakers should therefore consider the risk of negative consequences," Romney said in answer to "The Top American Science Questions: 2012" list posted at ScienceDebate.org. "However, there remains a lack of scientific consensus on the issue — on the extent of the warming, the extent of the human contribution, and the severity of the risk — and I believe we must support continued debate and investigation within the scientific community."
Sponsored by the American Association for the Advancement of Science and other science groups, the science debate effort aimed to encourage both Presidential candidates to discuss their views on science policy.
In a commentary, Science Debate chief Shawn Otto noted this as a "shift" in Romney's views , "away from his more recent position of 'My view is we don't know what's causing climate change on this planet...'," towards global warming views he expressed last year in announcing his candidacy.

http://content.usatoday.com/communities/sciencefair/post/2012/09/romney-climate-views-examined-in-science-debate/1