Climatide

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Who are the six Americas?

Sara Peach’s new piece on surveys of American’s attitudes toward climate change, and the implications for communicators, prompted me to take another look at the Six Americas study and a related video by one of the study’s authors, Yale social scientist Anthony Leiserowitz. Here are a few nuggets gleaned from all that reading/viewing:

1. Climate change is on the agenda. The “issue public” for climate change – that’s the segment of the population most engaged with the relevant political issues – is comparable to those for issues like immigration reform or abortion.
2. The field is in play. Most people are at least moderately interested in climate change. And with the exception of those who are most dismissive of climate science, the majority of Americans say they need more information about climate change and that their views on the topic could be swayed.
3. Information needs to be tailored to the audience. Each of the Six Americas has distinct interests and concerns that need to be addressed by experts and communicators. Skeptics want to know what the evidence is and why they should trust scientists, while those alarmed by climate change want to know what they (or their government) can do to combat it. Those in the middle want it all – evidence, risks, options.
4. What’s needed is consensus-building. The vast majority of Americans believe either that most scientists think global warming is happening or that there is a lot of disagreement among scientists. Even among those most dismissive of climate change, very few believe that there is a scientific consensus negating climate change.
5. Focus on here and now. One place where communicators could conceivably make a difference is in pointing out the ways that climate change is affecting individuals right now. Over half of Americans believe climate change will cause harm in 10-100 years, while only 30% think it’s already causing harm and just 5% strongly agree that they’ve personally felt the effects of climate change.
6. Conservation sells. All six Americas are interested in conserving energy, regardless of views on climate change. A recent test-case in Kansas has born out the theory that focusing on values and issues other than climate change can prompt people to cut energy usage and embrace clean energy.