PrintBefore we dig into public perception of climate change, we need to establish an understanding of the underpinnings of these perceptions. Some of this will seem directly linked and obviously correlated, but some if it may not.
I am a geographer, so I tend to think of things at different scales. For public opinion on climate change (or really any topic) where the discussion can be heated and politically divisive, I think it's always a good idea to zoom out. If we zoom out far enough, we can usually find some common ground. Let's look at this in an overly simplistic way for a minute just to make the point. If we zoom way out, I think we could build strong consensus among diverse audiences that it's important that the Earth can sustain human life. That statement feels very non-threatening or confrontational. Now of course, as we Zoom in, things get a bit messy. While we might all still agree on this point for a bit, we may fundamentally disagree on how we define the Earth as being in good enough shape to sustain us, or even what we mean by sustaining us. And do we mean all of human life or do we start to get selfish? Are we concerned mostly about sustaining our current economy? See, very messy. If we zoom in even more, we get an even more complicated look at priorities. Sure, maybe I do genuinely think that we need to take good care of the planet, but perhaps that doesn't align with other issues which are more immediately pressing to me and my family. Maybe I'm concerned that better care of the planet means me losing my job and ability to support my family. Or taking better care of the planet means higher taxes I cannot afford or otherwise do not support. Or maybe I'm very concerned about national security or education or health care or my local economy and thinking about taking care of the planet takes a back seat to things that feel more immediately relevant to my day. We zoomed way in and scattered our consensus.
I raise these points to say that part of the human dimensions of climate change is understanding how our friends, family, and neighbors come to feel the way about it that they do. It's easy to sit here and say shouldn't spend time on whether someone 'believes' in climate change - and to an extent, that's true. It's more about understanding the science than believing in it. After all, the climate is changing whether I believe that or not. However, if we want to do something about it, we need to create constructive conversations on the topic, and that can't happen if we don't take a step back to appreciate how people arrive at their opinions and beliefs.