How Americans Communicate About Global Warming

The report finds that most Americans rarely discuss global warming, preferring face-to-face or phone communication over social media, especially after extreme weather events. It highlights that family and friends are the most influential in convincing individuals to take action. The 'Alarmed' segment is the most active in public and political communication, while the 'Dismissive' and 'Disengaged' are the least.

• Only 33% of Americans report discussing global warming with friends or family at least occasionally, a decrease of 8 percentage points since November 2008.
• Public communication about global warming is rare, with fewer than 8% of Americans engaging in activities such as sharing information on Facebook or Twitter (7%), posting online comments (6%), or contacting newspapers (5%) in the past year.
• Americans who experienced extreme weather events primarily communicated their experiences through face-to-face conversations (77%) or phone calls (66%), with significantly lower usage of social media for this purpose.
• Approximately 26% of Americans discussed a company's irresponsible environmental behavior with family or friends in the last 12 months, while 10% spread this information via the media or internet.
• Contact with government officials regarding global warming has remained stable since 2008, with about 10% of Americans emailing, phoning, or writing to officials; 75% of those who did so urged the official to take action to reduce global warming.
• Family and friends are identified as the most effective influencers for convincing Americans to take action on global warming, specifically significant others (27%), children (21%), and close friends (17%).
• When asked by a respected person, Americans are most likely to sign a petition (45%), attend a public meeting (36%), or attend a neighborhood meeting (35%) regarding global warming.
• There is a notable openness to non-violent civil disobedience against corporate or government activities that exacerbate global warming, with 24% supporting such organizations and 13% willing to personally participate.
• The 'Alarmed' segment (16% of the population) is the most active in communication, with 18% sharing information on social media and 29% contacting government officials, whereas the 'Dismissive' (13%) and 'Disengaged' (5%) are the least active.
• Facebook usage for news consumption is highest among the Concerned (57%), while the Cautious and Disengaged are the most likely to comment on or share news stories on the platform (36% and 30% respectively).

APA

Center for Climate Change Communication (2013). How Americans Communicate About Global Warming. https://climatecommunication.gmu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/April-2013-How-Americans-Communicate-About-Global-Warming-2013.pdf

Chicago

Center for Climate Change Communication. How Americans Communicate About Global Warming. 2013. https://climatecommunication.gmu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/April-2013-How-Americans-Communicate-About-Global-Warming-2013.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Center for Climate Change Communication |title=How Americans Communicate About Global Warming |date=April 2013 |url=https://climatecommunication.gmu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/April-2013-How-Americans-Communicate-About-Global-Warming-2013.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{centerforclimatechangecommunication2013how, author = {{Center for Climate Change Communication}}, title = {{How Americans Communicate About Global Warming}}, institution = {Center for Climate Change Communication}, year = {2013}, month = apr, url = {https://climatecommunication.gmu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/April-2013-How-Americans-Communicate-About-Global-Warming-2013.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }