Climate change sparks a rise in climate anxiety
Severe heat and extreme weather are causing climate anxiety, according to a new study. For people who feel this anxiety, here’s what to do.
Claire Hardwick, USA TODAY
An exclusive USA TODAY/Ipsos poll finds a gaping American divide over climate change.
Polling data shows an almost an equal number of people believe two completely different things: About 1 in 5 people surveyed were so concerned about global warming that they think it will make it more difficult to live in their area. About the same number said they either don’t know if climate change is happening or don’t believe in it at all.
The poll even found links between how Americans perceive the weather and their views on climate change. People who don’t believe in climate change often were less likely to report an increase in extreme weather.
The polarized divide over climate change is well documented, but the latest data sheds new light on Americans’ experiences with extreme weather, how experiencing extreme weather affects Americans’ view of climate change, and the nation’s largely pessimistic predictions about the changing climate.
After a summer filled with wildfires, smoke, hurricanes and heat waves, a large number of Americans increasingly worry that extreme weather events will be more frequent in the future and a significant number say climate change is hurting their everyday lives.
Almost half the nation says they have faced extreme weather in the month before the poll was done in July. Among those, rates of concern about climate change are sky-high compared with those who haven’t.
The numbers tell the tale. At times it can seem as if people were living in different countries, or even different realities.
Democrats are much more likely to say they’ve experienced extreme weather events recently compared with Republicans, 57% to 44%. Of the 49% of people who said they had faced extreme weather in the past month, 76% were either very or somewhat concerned about climate change. Among people who didn’t experience a recent extreme weather event, only 24% said they were very concerned. A full 68% said extreme weather events will become more frequent soon. And 39% said climate change was harming their everyday life. Close to two-thirds were pessimistic about the chance of slowing or reversing the effects of global warming – in part because they believe Americans aren’t willing to change their behavior.Here’s where Americans worry the most about their homes and climate change
The notion that a significant portion of Americans worry climate change will mean they can’t continue living where and as they do doesn’t surprise Edward Maibach, a professor and director of the George Mason University Center for Climate Change Communication.
“Climate migration in America is likely to increasingly become a reality,” he said. “It will have consequences for housing prices in the areas that are attracting new families and in the areas that are losing families. It’s also likely to increase the red/blue divide on public opinion about climate change.”
Whether people think they’ll be able to stay where they are varies greatly by region.
In the West, which has experienced wildfires, drought and torrential rains in the past year, 30% said they thought it would be difficult to continue living in their area. In the Midwest, which has experienced fewer extreme weather events, the number was 13%. Nationally, the same partisan divide is in evidence. Twenty-three percent of those polled said they either strongly or somewhat agreed with the statement that it will get more difficult to stay in the area where they live because of climate change. For Republicans, the number was 13%. For Democrats, it was 31%. A sharp political divide – even on the weather
The poll found extreme differences around beliefs about climate change depending on a person’s political leanings, even down to how they experience the weather.
Polling data found people who believe climate change is being caused by humans reported an increased rate of experiencing a rise in extreme heat, tornados, hurricanes and other extreme weather over the past 10 years. That compares with those who believe climate change is happening because of natural causes or don’t believe in it at all − they generally reported less of an increase in such extreme weather.
Overall, Americans see climate change as a serious problem and something humans are causing, with just over half saying climate change is mostly caused by human activity. But while there’s overall consensus, it’s masking a very deep political divide.
“It’s almost as if people live in two different places,” said Ipsos senior data journalist Sarah Feldman.
28% of Republicans believe climate change is mostly caused by human activity. For Democrats, that number is 82%, and for Independents, it’s 56%. 11% of Republicans said climate change was not really happening, as did 4% of Independents. No Democrats surveyed agreed with that statement.41% of Democrats said they were significantly more concerned about the effects of climate change now than they were a few years ago. For Independents, it was 20%; for Republicans, it was 9%.
Though the numbers suggest a stark American divide, some experts see more nuance, said Matthew Burgess, a professor in the department of environmental studies at the University of Colorado, Boulder.
“The divide that’s most interesting is not between Democrats and Republicans collectively, it’s between the hard right and everybody else in terms of climate change,” he said.
“When you look at polls, young Republicans moderate Republicans and Independents are all very concerned about climate change.”
Data shows a pessimistic view of future
When they think about climate change, Americans generally aren’t hopeful about the future.
Close to two-thirds were pessimistic about the chance of slowing or reversing the effects of global warming – in part because they think Americans aren’t willing to change their behaviors.
Just 34% of people agreed or strongly agreed that progress to slow or reverse climate change was being made. But more than 60% of those polled said that while humans could slow or reverse things, their fellow Americans weren’t willing to change their behavior to accomplish it.
On a positive note, some Americans did say they were willing to make changes. About one-third of those surveyed said that in the next year they’d be willing to do things like walking or biking to close locations, paying $100 more in taxes to reduce pollution, or installing solar panels.
Burgess also sees a reason for hope: Both political parties have a strong incentive to come to the table on the question of climate change, he said.
For the Republicans, it’s because a lot of people who vote Republican are still concerned about climate change and want something done about it.
For Democrats, finding ways to deal with climate change despite the divide is key, Burgess said. That includes being willing to compromise and build bridges to get things done. “If you don’t do that, then maybe you don’t really believe it’s an emergency.”
The USA TODAY/Ipsos study was conducted in July among a nationally representative sample of 1,024 adult Americans on the probability-based Ipsos KnowledgePanel.
Elizabeth Weise covers climate change for USA TODAY. Reach her at eweise@usatoday.com
Source link : https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2023/09/06/climate-change-divides-america-usa-today-ipsos-poll-data-shows/70533243007/
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Publish date : 2023-09-06 03:00:00
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