Most Americans say global warming is personally important to them, but don’t talk or hear about it much.

A March 2016 survey of 1,204 American adults reveals that while a majority of Americans consider global warming personally important and are interested in the issue, they rarely discuss it with family and friends or hear it mentioned by others and in the media.

• A majority of Americans express interest in global warming, with 67% being either "very" (22%) or "moderately" (45%) interested, while 32% are "not very" or "not at all" interested.
• Most Americans view global warming as personally important; 60% describe it as "extremely" (9%), "very" (17%), or "moderately" (35%) important, whereas 38% say it is "not too" or "not at all" important.
• There is a low frequency of exposure to global warming in the media and social circles. Only 44% of Americans hear it discussed in the media at least once a month, and 68% hear people they know discuss it only "several times a year" or less often.
• Americans rarely engage in personal discussions about global warming, with 68% reporting they "rarely" (36%) or "never" (32%) discuss it with family and friends, a trend that has increased slightly over eight years.
• A "spiral of silence" exists where individuals who care about the issue still avoid discussing it. Specifically, 57% of those interested in global warming and 54% of those who think it is important "rarely" or "never" talk about it with family and friends.

APA

Leiserowitz, A., Feinberg, G., Rosenthal, S., Maibach, E., & Roser-Renouf, C. (2016). Most Americans say global warming is personally important to them, but don’t talk or hear about it much. Center for Climate Change Communication. https://climatecommunication.gmu.edu/all/climatesilence/

Chicago

Leiserowitz, Anthony, Geoff Feinberg, Seth Rosenthal, Edward Maibach, and Connie Roser-Renouf. Most Americans say global warming is personally important to them, but don’t talk or hear about it much. Center for Climate Change Communication, 2016. https://climatecommunication.gmu.edu/all/climatesilence/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Leiserowitz |first1=Anthony |last2=Feinberg |first2=Geoff |last3=Rosenthal |first3=Seth |last4=Maibach |first4=Edward |last5=Roser-Renouf |first5=Connie |title=Most Americans say global warming is personally important to them, but don’t talk or hear about it much. |publisher=Center for Climate Change Communication |date=29 September 2016 |url=https://climatecommunication.gmu.edu/all/climatesilence/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{leiserowitz2016most, author = {Leiserowitz, Anthony and Feinberg, Geoff and Rosenthal, Seth and Maibach, Edward and Roser-Renouf, Connie}, title = {{Most Americans say global warming is personally important to them, but don’t talk or hear about it much.}}, institution = {Center for Climate Change Communication}, year = {2016}, month = sep, url = {https://climatecommunication.gmu.edu/all/climatesilence/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }