Global Warming’s Six Americas

The report identifies six segments of the U.S. population—Alarmed, Concerned, Cautious, Disengaged, Doubtful, and Dismissive—and tracks their evolving perceptions of global warming. It finds that while the Alarmed and Concerned are convinced of the reality and human cause of climate change, the Dismissive and Doubtful are not. The study also examines the relationship between personal experience with extreme weather and climate beliefs, trust in information sources, and support for specific energy and climate policies.

• The U.S. adult population is divided into six segments based on climate concern: Alarmed (13%), Concerned (26%), Cautious (29%), Disengaged (6%), Doubtful (15%), and Dismissive (10%) as of March 2012.
• There is a stark divide in beliefs regarding the cause of global warming: 84% of the Alarmed and 70% of the Concerned attribute it to human activities, whereas 68% of the Doubtful and 65% of the Dismissive attribute it to natural changes.
• Confidence in the ability of humans to successfully reduce global warming is very low across all segments, with 6% or less in each group expressing confidence.
• The Alarmed segment is the most attentive to weather and most likely to perceive that U.S. weather is worsening, with 77% believing it has gotten 'much' or 'somewhat' worse.
• A majority of the Alarmed (93%), Concerned (92%), Cautious (74%), and Disengaged (73%) believe global warming is affecting U.S. weather, while 90% of the Dismissive and 66% of the Doubtful disagree.
• Trust in climate scientists is higher than trust in other types of scientists for most Americans (73% vs 65%), but this trend is reversed among the Dismissive, where only 29% trust climate scientists.
• Broad support exists for three clean energy policies among all groups except the Dismissive: funding renewable energy research, providing tax rebates for energy-efficient vehicles or solar panels, and regulating carbon dioxide.
• The Alarmed and Dismissive segments exhibit the highest levels of political efficacy, with approximately two-thirds of each group stating they are well-informed about important national political issues.
• Interpersonal communication about global warming is rare, with 64% of Americans reporting they never discuss the topic.
• A majority of Americans (68%) believe that media coverage of global warming is distorted by special interest groups.

APA

Leiserowitz, A., Maibach, E., Roser-Renouf, C., & Hmielowski, J. (2012). Global Warming’s Six Americas. Center for Climate Change Communication. https://climatecommunication.gmu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/March-2012-and-Nov.-2011-Global-Warmings-Six-Americas.pdf

Chicago

Leiserowitz, Anthony, Edward Maibach, Connie Roser-Renouf, and Jay Hmielowski. Global Warming’s Six Americas. Center for Climate Change Communication, 2012. https://climatecommunication.gmu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/March-2012-and-Nov.-2011-Global-Warmings-Six-Americas.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Leiserowitz |first1=Anthony |last2=Maibach |first2=Edward |last3=Roser-Renouf |first3=Connie |last4=Hmielowski |first4=Jay |title=Global Warming’s Six Americas |publisher=Center for Climate Change Communication |date=2012 |url=https://climatecommunication.gmu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/March-2012-and-Nov.-2011-Global-Warmings-Six-Americas.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{leiserowitz2012global, author = {Leiserowitz, Anthony and Maibach, Edward and Roser-Renouf, Connie and Hmielowski, Jay}, title = {{Global Warming’s Six Americas}}, institution = {Center for Climate Change Communication}, year = {2012}, url = {https://climatecommunication.gmu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/March-2012-and-Nov.-2011-Global-Warmings-Six-Americas.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }