Global Warming's Six Americas

The document tracks shifts in American public opinion on global warming across six identified groups, noting a significant increase in the 'Dismissive' group and a decrease in the 'Alarmed' group. Despite diverging views on the urgency and cause of climate change, most groups support clean energy development and the regulation of carbon dioxide.

• Between 2008 and 2009, the 'Dismissive' group—those who believe global warming is not happening or is a hoax—more than doubled in size, reaching 16 percent of the American public. Conversely, the 'Alarmed' group—those who view global warming as a serious, human-caused, and urgent threat—decreased from 18 percent in 2008 to 10 percent in 2009.
• Other shifts in public perception occurred between 2008 and 2009: the 'Concerned' group dropped from 33 percent to 29 percent; the 'Cautious' group increased from 19 percent to 27 percent; the 'Disengaged' group decreased from 12 percent to 6 percent; and the 'Doubtful' group increased from 11 percent to 13 percent.
• Despite differences in climate belief, majorities across all six groups support prioritizing clean energy development and funding for renewable energy and energy-efficient vehicle or solar panel tax rebates. Support for regulating carbon dioxide as a pollutant is high across most groups, ranging from 52 percent among the 'Doubtful' to 93 percent among the 'Concerned', while only 15 percent of the 'Dismissive' group supports this policy.

APA

Yale Program on Climate Change Communication (2010). Global Warming's Six Americas. https://climatecommunication.yale.edu/publications/global-warmings-six-americas/

Chicago

Yale Program on Climate Change Communication. Global Warming's Six Americas. 2010. https://climatecommunication.yale.edu/publications/global-warmings-six-americas/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Yale Program on Climate Change Communication |title=Global Warming's Six Americas |date=24 February 2010 |url=https://climatecommunication.yale.edu/publications/global-warmings-six-americas/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{yaleprogramonclimatechangecommunication2010global, author = {{Yale Program on Climate Change Communication}}, title = {{Global Warming's Six Americas}}, institution = {Yale Program on Climate Change Communication}, year = {2010}, month = feb, url = {https://climatecommunication.yale.edu/publications/global-warmings-six-americas/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }