Climate Change in the American Mind

The report presents survey data from 1,010 American adults on their priorities regarding global warming and clean energy, their views on who should address these issues, and their support for specific policy interventions at national and local levels. It highlights a general preference for clean energy over global warming as a priority and shows strong support for renewable energy research and tax rebates, while revealing significant political polarization on issues like carbon emissions treaties and gasoline taxes.

• In May 2011, Americans viewed developing clean energy as a higher priority for the president and Congress than addressing global warming. Specifically, 66% of respondents rated clean energy as a 'High' or 'Very high' priority, compared to 40% for global warming.
• A majority of Americans (61%) believe the United States should reduce its greenhouse gas emissions regardless of the actions of other countries.
• There is strong public support for funding renewable energy research (84% support) and providing tax rebates for energy-efficient vehicles or solar panels (82% support).
• Public support for national policies is lower for carbon-related taxes; 67% of respondents oppose increasing gasoline taxes by 25 cents per gallon, even if revenues are returned via federal income tax reductions.
• At the local level, there is high support for increasing public transportation availability (80% support) and installing bike lanes on city streets (77% support), but strong opposition to building a local nuclear power plant (64% oppose).
• Americans perceive a positive link between environmental protection and the economy, with 54% stating that protecting the environment "Improves economic growth and provides new jobs".
• Political affiliation strongly influences policy preferences. For example, 56% of Republicans view global warming as a 'Low' priority for the president and Congress, whereas only 12% of Democrats share this view.

APA

Leiserowitz, A., Maibach, E., Roser-Renouf, C., & Smith, N. (2011). Climate Change in the American Mind. Center for Climate Change Communication. https://climatecommunication.gmu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/May-2011-Public-Support-for-Climate-and-Energy-Policies.pdf

Chicago

Leiserowitz, Anthony, Edward Maibach, Connie Roser-Renouf, and Nicholas Smith. Climate Change in the American Mind. Center for Climate Change Communication, 2011. https://climatecommunication.gmu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/May-2011-Public-Support-for-Climate-and-Energy-Policies.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Leiserowitz |first1=Anthony |last2=Maibach |first2=Edward |last3=Roser-Renouf |first3=Connie |last4=Smith |first4=Nicholas |title=Climate Change in the American Mind |publisher=Center for Climate Change Communication |date=2011 |url=https://climatecommunication.gmu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/May-2011-Public-Support-for-Climate-and-Energy-Policies.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{leiserowitz2011climate, author = {Leiserowitz, Anthony and Maibach, Edward and Roser-Renouf, Connie and Smith, Nicholas}, title = {{Climate Change in the American Mind}}, institution = {Center for Climate Change Communication}, year = {2011}, url = {https://climatecommunication.gmu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/May-2011-Public-Support-for-Climate-and-Energy-Policies.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }