Climate Change in the American Mind

The March 2012 survey of 1,008 American adults indicates that while 66% believe global warming is happening, only 46% attribute it primarily to human activities. The public shows a tendency to overestimate the level of disbelief in global warming among their fellow citizens. Trust in information sources is highest for scientists and weather reporters, while trust in fossil fuel companies is the lowest. Political trust is divided, with 47% trusting President Obama and 21% trusting Mitt Romney on the issue.

• Public belief that global warming is occurring increased to 66% in March 2012, up 3 points from November 2011, but the belief that it is caused primarily by human activities fell 4 points to 46%.
• Americans perceive global warming as more harmful to external groups than to themselves; 65% believe it will harm future generations and 64% believe it will harm plant and animal species, compared to only 29% who believe it will harm them personally.
• There is a disconnect between scientific consensus and public perception, as the proportion of Americans believing most scientists think global warming is happening dropped 6 points to 35% since November 2011, while those believing in significant scientific disagreement rose to 41%.
• Americans overestimate the level of global warming disbelief in the US; respondents estimated that 21% of Americans do not believe global warming is happening (actual: 14%) and 25% believe it is caused by natural causes (actual: 19%).
• A significant portion of the population feels undecided, with 70% of Americans stating they need some level of additional information before forming a final opinion on global warming.
• Trust in information sources varies widely: climate scientists (74%), other scientists (65%), and television weather reporters (62%) are highly trusted, whereas oil, gas and coal companies are the least trusted at 13%.
• Political trust regarding global warming is polarized, with 47% of Americans trusting President Obama, while trust in Mitt Romney is only 21% and has decreased by 5 points since November 2011.

APA

Leiserowitz, A., Maibach, E., Roser-Renouf, C., & Hmielowski, J. D. (2012). Climate Change in the American Mind. Center for Climate Change Communication. https://climatecommunication.gmu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/March-2012-Americans-Global-Warming-Beliefs-and-Attitudes.pdf

Chicago

Leiserowitz, Anthony, Edward Maibach, Connie Roser-Renouf, and Jay D. Hmielowski. Climate Change in the American Mind. Center for Climate Change Communication, 2012. https://climatecommunication.gmu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/March-2012-Americans-Global-Warming-Beliefs-and-Attitudes.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Leiserowitz |first1=Anthony |last2=Maibach |first2=Edward |last3=Roser-Renouf |first3=Connie |last4=Hmielowski |first4=Jay D. |title=Climate Change in the American Mind |publisher=Center for Climate Change Communication |date=2012 |url=https://climatecommunication.gmu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/March-2012-Americans-Global-Warming-Beliefs-and-Attitudes.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{leiserowitz2012climate, author = {Leiserowitz, Anthony and Maibach, Edward and Roser-Renouf, Connie and Hmielowski, Jay D.}, title = {{Climate Change in the American Mind}}, institution = {Center for Climate Change Communication}, year = {2012}, url = {https://climatecommunication.gmu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/March-2012-Americans-Global-Warming-Beliefs-and-Attitudes.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }