Poll: Americans in Northeast, West more concerned for climate change

April 22 (UPI) -- Americans in the Northeast and West are more concerned about global warming than the rest of the country, but a new Gallup poll released Monday showed most Americans are worried about the weather trend across the board.

The pollster's latest environment poll, released on Earth Day, included interviews with more than 1,000 Americans and showed 67 percent from the Northeast and West said global warming has already started -- compared to 60 percent in the Midwest and 53 percent in the South.

Seventy percent in the Northeast say the seriousness of climate change is correct or underestimated, and 67 percent in the West agree -- compared to 62 percent in the Midwest and 60 percent in the South.

When asked how much they worry, nearly three-quarters of Americans in the Northeast answered either a great deal or a fair amount.

"The regional differences in views about global warming largely reflect the political leanings of each region's states and the politicization of the issue, with many Democrats sounding the alarm on the severity of climate change and many Republicans casting doubts about its effects and its cause," Gallup researcher Justin McCarthy said.

A Gallup poll showed last month 66 percent of Americans said human activities are causing climate change.

The survey questioned more than 1,000 Americans and has a margin of error of