Climate Change in the American Mind

The December 2018 report 'Climate Change in the American Mind' reveals a continued upward trend in American concern about global warming. Key findings include that 73% of Americans believe global warming is happening, 62% attribute it primarily to human activities, and 69% express worry about the issue. The report also notes that 46% of respondents claim to have personally experienced the effects of global warming and 48% believe people in the U.S. are being harmed 'right now.' While a majority are interested in the topic, social norms for taking action remain weak, with fewer than half perceiving an expectation from family and friends to act.

• Public belief that global warming is occurring has reached its highest level since 2008, with 73% of Americans agreeing it is happening and 51% feeling 'extremely' or 'very' sure of this fact.
• A majority of Americans (62%) believe global warming is primarily caused by human activities, while 23% attribute it to natural environmental changes.
• While 57% of Americans recognize that most scientists agree global warming is happening, only 20% are aware of the high level of scientific consensus (over 90%).
• Emotional concern is rising, with 69% of Americans reporting they are at least 'somewhat worried' and 29% reporting they are 'very worried' about global warming.
• Personal experience and perceived immediate harm are increasing; 46% of Americans say they have personally experienced global warming's effects, and 48% believe people in the U.S. are being harmed 'right now.'
• Americans perceive the greatest harm from global warming to be falling on future generations (75%) and plant and animal species (74%).
• Personal importance and media exposure are increasing, with 72% stating the issue is personally important and 56% hearing about it in the media at least once a month.
• Social norms for climate action are relatively weak, as only 46% perceive an injunctive norm (importance to family/friends) and 40% perceive a descriptive norm (effort by family/friends).
• Most Americans (66%) disagree that it is too late to take action against global warming, while only 14% agree it is too late.
• A majority of Americans (65%) believe global warming is affecting U.S. weather, and many link it to specific 2018 events, such as Western U.S. wildfires (50%) and hurricanes Florence and Michael (49%).
• Local concerns are highest for extreme heat (61%) and flooding (61%), followed by droughts (58%) and water shortages (51%).

APA

Center for Climate Change Communication (2018). Climate Change in the American Mind. https://climatecommunication.gmu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Climate-Change-American-Mind-December-2018-min.pdf

Chicago

Center for Climate Change Communication. Climate Change in the American Mind. 2018. https://climatecommunication.gmu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Climate-Change-American-Mind-December-2018-min.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Center for Climate Change Communication |title=Climate Change in the American Mind |date=December 2018 |url=https://climatecommunication.gmu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Climate-Change-American-Mind-December-2018-min.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{centerforclimatechangecommunication2018climate, author = {{Center for Climate Change Communication}}, title = {{Climate Change in the American Mind}}, institution = {Center for Climate Change Communication}, year = {2018}, month = dec, url = {https://climatecommunication.gmu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Climate-Change-American-Mind-December-2018-min.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }