US adult opinions on climate change
Pew polling from October 2023, summarized here, shows large shares of Americans expecting little local climate effect over 30 years, with regional variation that weakens support for robust policy.
Why it matters: perceived personal risk drives political mandates; low local threat perception stalls mitigation.
Treat the regional tallies as a map of political feasibility. Readers should watch the gap between national warming-is-happening agreement and willingness to change energy policy.
41% of Americans in a recent (10/2023) Pew poll think that climate change will cause very little effect in their area over the next 30 years. 7% think climate change will make their area better and another 10% say that climate change will have no effect. This adds to 58% who would have near 0 reason to support a robust climate policy.
By region the Midwest numbers add up to 69%, the Northeast to 61%, the South to 57%, and the West to 48%. 51% in the West think that climate will be worse in the next 30 years.
46% think that humans have a great deal of effect on climate and 20% think that natural patterns are having a low effect on climate.
32% think that climate scientists understand very well whether or not climate change is occurring. 48% think climate scientists have the right amount or too much influence in public policy debates about addressing global climate change. 37% care a great deal about the issue of climate change. (Of that 37%, as a wild guess, at least 3% think that climate change has very little or nothing to do with humans. LS) For context; note that 39% (Pew November 2022) think that we are in “The End Times. That belief tends to deselect for climate action/conversion to a renewable/sustainable civilization and all the efforts and sacrifices from BAU that would entail.
For context; 25% of adults think the sun orbits the earth in a 2 possible answer question since at least the 1980s. A random guess is 50/50 thus very likely less that 75% know the correct answer.
53% are suspicious of the people and groups pushing for climate action. 33% are annoyed there is so much attention to the climate issue.
The sampling error is plus or minus 1.6% LS
About 22% think that evolution is a fact, and it is not directed by a deity. 40% believe that God created humans less than 10,000 years ago. Data from a 2019 Gallup poll. LS