What Do Americans believe?

Recent studies have concluded that the nearly half of Americans believe that Anthropogenic Climate Change is occurring. Pew Research Center conducted a survey in 2014 and concluded about 61% of Americans believe there is solid evidence that the Earth is warming (Motel 30.3.15). Motel continues by stating that 48% of Americans believe it's a top concern. The top concerns were possible terrorists attacks and the nuclear plans of Iran and North Korea. As time passes, scientific evidence continues to indicate humans have influence the climate and scientific consensus continues to rise, too. A recent opinion survey showed that there's still a significant gap between the general public and scientists. The poll concluded that about 50% of the general public and 87% of scientists believe that climate change is mostly due to human activity.

Fig 1. Shows the percent of Americans that believe in Global warming and how many view it as a major threat. 

Honestly, I found these studies quite surprising. I feel like I spend a lot more time discussing how we know humans have influenced the climate than what we can do to fix the problem. However, I still remain quite optimistic after reading these studies. I think society is moving in the right direction. As scientific consensus increases, the public is sure to follow. Since more a more people understand that there is a problem, it is our job to introduce solutions.

Works Cited:

Motel, Seth. "Polls Show Most Americans Believe in Climate Change, but Give It Low Priority." Pew Research Center RSS. 23 Sept. 2014. Web. 1 Apr. 2015. <http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2014/09/23/most-americans-believe-in-climate-change-but-give-it-low-priority/>.