Global Warming’s Six Americas
July 30, 2009 08:53AM
From the survey and analysis by Anthony Leiserowitz, Edward Maibach, and Andrew Light:
It is critical to recognize ... that people are different, with widely diverse backgrounds, experiences, knowledge, and values. There is a spectrum from those Americans who know a lot about climate change, to those who have never heard of it. Likewise, some Americans have taken personal action to reduce their own carbon footprint, while others have not. At a deeper level, different groups within American society emphasize different values, which strongly shape their interpretations and preferred solutions to climate change.
Thus, the American public does not respond to climate change with a single voice – there are many different groups that each respond to this issue in different ways. ... This report identifies “Global Warming’s Six Americas” – six unique audiences within the American public that each respond to this issue in a different way. It is based upon an extensive nationally representative survey of American adults conducted in the fall of 2008. ...
This analysis identifies six distinct groups of American adults. These groups differ dramatically with regard to what they believe about global warming, how engaged they are with the issue, what they are doing about it, and what they would like to see the United States do about it. They also differ dramatically with regard to size: the largest segment represents 33% of the U.S. adult population, and the smallest only 7% (Figure 1). These six audience segments describe a spectrum of concern and action about global warming, ranging from the Alarmed (18% of the population), to the Concerned (33%), Cautious (19%), Disengaged (12%), Doubtful (11%) and Dismissive (7%).
[Update: See also Anthony Leiserowitz on Climate and Risk Perception.]
