Climate change is a major threat to ecosystems and people around the world. Risk analysts, including the U.S. Department of Defense, rank climate change as one of the most serious threats to society. The 2014 Synthesis Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) states that “climate change will amplify existing risks and create new risks for natural and human systems” unless it is addressed by substantial human action at a global scale. …
In this article, we examine how the general public in the United States has viewed global warming over the past decade, identifying important trends in public understanding of global warming, their perceptions of the risks, varying degrees of political polarization, and the public’s overall “silence” on the issue. Finally, we discuss how these data can support climate change communication strategies. CONT.
Matthew T. Ballew, Anthony Leiserowitz, et al, Environment