President Obama's rating for handling the Gulf of Mexico oil spill has risen as the leak has been capped and the immediate crisis has waned.

A new NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll shows that 50 percent of Americans approve of Obama's handling of the spill's aftermath, while 38 percent disapprove. That is up from a June poll that found 42 percent approved, while 50 percent disapproved.

The poll, conducted Thursday through Monday, also found that public opinion tends to favor Democrats over Republicans for handling environmental problems, global warming and energy policy.

It found that 36 percent of respondents believe Democrats would do a better job on energy policy, compared with 20 percent who favor Republicans. Another 22 percent rated the parties "about the same."

But that 16-point spread on energy issues has lessened since earlier polls, down from a 28-point edge in January 2008 and a 24-point spread in July 2007.

Forty percent of respondents said Democrats would do a better job dealing with global warming, while 13 percent said the GOP would. Democrats had a 45-point edge on global warming in a January 2008 poll.

The poll shows respondents favor Democrats as better equipped to protect the environment overall by a 33-point margin, consistent with polls since the early 1990s. Forty-six percent of respondents said Democrats were better equipped to protect the environment, while 13 percent said Republicans were.

The poll surveyed 1,000 adults Aug. 5-9 and has an error margin of 3.1 percentage points.