A majority of Americans (70%) believe global warming is happening. A majority of Americans believe that global warming will harm people I the United States (58%). A minority of Americans believe global warming will harm them personally (40%). Moreover, half of Americans believe global warming will affect them little/not at all.
How do we square this circle?
Is it simply that some individuals think climate change will affect some Americans, but not others? Miami will be submerged, but I’ll be fine. Certainly, this theory has support when geography is taken in to account. Broadly speaking, respondents from the Mid-West are less likely compared to their coastal counterparts to believe climate change is happening.
Is it motivated reasoning? I understand that climate change is happening, but recognizing its affects would be so traumatic that I refuse to accept its effects on myself? This theory seems to be in line with Dr. Lertzman’s findings that apathy and indifference acts as defensive mechanisms to avoid confrontation.
Perhaps it is simple cognitive dissonance. This is where doublethink comes in. Per Orwell, “Doublethink means the power of holding two contradictory beliefs in one’s mind simultaneously, and accepting both of them.” While Orwell was describing a totalitarian state, I believe that the principle is applicable in this scenario. For instance, a minority of Americans believe that most scientists think global warming is happening (49%), while the vast majority of Americans trust climate scientists about global warming (71%). In my opinion, this suggests that Americans to trust climate scientists, but ignore the science due to its discomforting findings.
Overall, I am heartened to learn of the broad recognition of climate change, particularly with regards to increasing public awareness over time. I believe that as the effects of global warming become more tangible in people’s everyday lives, there will be increasing public pressure to find policy solutions. Hopefully, it won’t be too late.
Source to polling data: http://climatecommunication.yale.edu/visualizations-data/ycom-us-2016/?est=happening&type=value&geo=state
Organization: Yale University, 2016, 95% confidence interval. Complete methodology available via the link above.