… What do the terms “global warming” and “climate change” mean to the American public? Are they synonyms? Does the public see and use each term equally? Do they interpret and respond to the two terms in the same way? Or do they view and respond to each term differently? When communicators use these two terms, how do different audiences interpret them? Over the years, these questions have generated much debate and controversy in the media and among scientists, educators, political analysts, advocates and citizens.
This report investigates these question in detail, drawing upon three related studies, including a recent national survey of Americans, in which half the sample was randomly assigned to a questionnaire measuring Americans’ beliefs, attitudes, policy support and behaviors using the term global warming, while the other half was randomly assigned to a questionnaire with identical questions, except using the term climate change.
The studies found that the two terms are often not synonymous—they mean different things to different people—and activate different sets of beliefs, feelings, and behaviors, as well as different degrees of urgency about the need to respond. CONT.
Yale Project on Climate Change Communication & Center for Climate Change Communication, George Mason U.