Collecting public opinion on global warming and climate change is instrumental in influencing decision-making and policy for the reduction and mitigation of future impacts. Yet, the way public opinion is collected differs across scale, from the national to the local level.
Collecting public opinion on global warming and climate change is instrumental in influencing decision-making and policy for the reduction and mitigation of future impacts. Yet, the way public opinion is collected differs across scale, from the national to the local level.
National-level statistics, which are often more easily attainable and cost-effective, can gloss over important differences in opinion at smaller scales such as counties and metropolitan areas. In an effort to combat these inconsistencies, the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication (YPCCC) developed a model that breaks down national public opinion to smaller scales of measurement, allowing for rich data visualization that speaks to the diversity of Americans’ beliefs, attitudes and policy support.
Each year, the YPCCC produces public opinion maps based on data collected from the Climate Change in the American Mind Survey. Within the survey, questions are divided into four broad categories: 1) beliefs; 2) risk perceptions; 3) policy support; and 4) behaviors. An example question asks, “What do you think? Do you think global warming is happening?” In the spring 2020 iteration of opinion maps, an estimated 72% of adults nationally believe that global warming is happening. However, this percentage greatly differs across the state- and county-level. In comparison to this national area, an estimated 59% of adults in West Virginia believe that global warming is happening. West Virginia, in fact, has the lowest estimated percentage of global warming belief in all of Yale’s statewide data, prompting a closer evaluation of this stark divide from national opinion.
1. Why do you think that the percentage of belief that global warming is happening is the lowest in West Virginia? What cultural or socioeconomic factors might play into this opinion?
However, Climate Opinion Maps fall short in the sense that they do not survey college students, who might have different perceptions, beliefs, and opinions of climate change than other adults across West Virginia. In an effort to collect more data on college-aged individuals, a survey similar to the Climate Opinion Map questions was utilized in various undergraduate courses at West Virginia University in the spring 2020 semester. Courses included environmental and STEM-related courses in the Davis College and Eberly College. Students were asked to answer approximately 24 survey questions about their opinions on climate change.
Out of roughly 410 respondents, 91% (371 participants) believe that global warming is happening. This percentage is drastically above the 59% of surveyed adults within the same period across the state of West Virginia by the Yale Climate Opinion Maps. Interestingly, 75% (306 participants) were ‘somewhat worried’ and ‘very worried’ about global warming, and 78% (317 participants) thought that they would be personally harmed by global warming in some capacity. Again, students surveyed were well-above the statewide average of adults worried about global warming (49%) and who thought they would be personally affected (30%).
Question: Why would the percentages among college students be drastically different than those of adults across West Virginia?
Question: Do you believe that the percentages would shift based on what types of students were surveyed (i.e. students in non-STEM or non-environmental focused majors)?
Go to the recent Yale Climate Opinion Map
Click on ‘Select State’ and Select ‘West Virginia’. Then, on the left-hand side of the map, select ‘States’. The map should look like the one below.
Go to the top dropdown menu and select the question: ‘global warming is mostly caused by human activities.’
Question: What is the percentage of adults in West Virginia that believe global warming is caused by human activities? Are you surprised by this percentage?
Question: How far is the percentage of adults in West Virginia off of the national average?
a. How does this percentage differ from other surrounding states, such as Maryland, Virginia, and Kentucky?
b. Why might the percentages differ? Think of different hypotheses based on population, jobs / livelihood, etc.
By looking at student survey data from West Virginia University on the same question, only 30% (124 participants) believed that global warming is mostly caused by human activities. 62% (252 participants) believed that global warming is caused by both natural changes in the environment and human activities. In the next section, we will look at other maps that show that, in reality, global warming is mostly caused by human activities.