What do (13,000) Americans really think about climate change?

Originally published by Rita Handrich.

We blogged recently on how to talk about climate change without eliciting automatic (knee jerk) negative reactions from listeners. Shortly before that post, we blogged about scientific consensus on climate change as a gateway belief to persuasion. So we were happy to see a wonderfully clear writeup on the Yale Project on Climate Change Communication’s survey on American beliefs about climate change over at the Sociological Images blog.

The Yale researchers asked 13,000 Americans whether they thought the climate was changing and what they thought was causing climate change (if it indeed existed). They found that responses clustered in six separate types. Here’s how Sociological Images described those types [as defined by the Yale group]:

• The Alarmed (18%) – believe climate change is happening, have already changed their behavior, and are ready to get out there and try to save the world

• The Concerned (33%) – believe it’s happening, but think it’s far off or isn’t going to affect them personally

• The Cautious (19%) – aren’t sure if it’s happening or not and are also unsure whether it’s human caused

• The Disengaged (12%) –  have heard the phrase “climate change,” but couldn’t tell you the first thing about it

• The Doubtful (11%) – are skeptical that it’s happening and, if it is, they don’t think it’s a problem and don’t think it’s human caused

• The Dismissive (7%) – do not believe in it, think it’s a hoax

What is truly wonderful is they offer an interactive map so you can see how beliefs about climate change vary by state and even by county. While some might say this shows how different our beliefs are about climate change—one commenter at the blog says it shows how similarly we (for the most part) feel on the issues. It is well worth your time to take a look at Sociological Images post of the highlights of the Yale study and then, if you want to know more, take a look at the Yale site itself for the complete writeup.

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Related posts:

1. Talking about climate change without  knee-jerk responses from listeners
2. Views of White Americans toward Black Americans
3. Pew Research says 15% of Americans don’t use the internet and  asks “who are they”?

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