climate change in the american mind

The report finds a growing majority of Americans believe global warming is happening and human-caused, with an increase in perceived personal and community threats. Climate scientists are identified as the most trusted source of information, while a significant portion of the population feels they have sufficient information to form a firm opinion.

• Belief in the reality of global warming among Americans rose from 57 percent in January 2010 to 70 percent in September 2012, while those believing it is not happening fell from 20 percent to 12 percent in that period.
• A majority of Americans (54%) now believe global warming is primarily caused by human activities, marking the first time since 2008 that this view held a majority. Conversely, the belief that it is caused by natural changes dropped to 30%.
• Public perception of scientific consensus has shifted; 44% of Americans believe most scientists agree global warming is happening, compared to 36% who believe there is widespread disagreement.
• Americans perceive the highest levels of harm from global warming to be affecting future generations (68%), plant and animal species (68%), and people in developing countries (64%).
• Climate scientists are the most trusted source of information on global warming at 76%, followed by other scientists (67%) and TV weather reporters (60%).
• There is a trend toward people feeling they have sufficient information to form an opinion; the percentage of Americans saying they need no more information rose from 23% in May 2011 to 30% in September 2012.

APA

Yale Program on Climate Change Communication (2012). climate change in the american mind. https://climatecommunication.yale.edu/app/uploads/2016/02/2012_10_Americans’-Global-Warming-Beliefs-and-Attitudes-in-September-2012.pdf

Chicago

Yale Program on Climate Change Communication. climate change in the american mind. 2012. https://climatecommunication.yale.edu/app/uploads/2016/02/2012_10_Americans’-Global-Warming-Beliefs-and-Attitudes-in-September-2012.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Yale Program on Climate Change Communication |title=climate change in the american mind |date=September 2012 |url=https://climatecommunication.yale.edu/app/uploads/2016/02/2012_10_Americans’-Global-Warming-Beliefs-and-Attitudes-in-September-2012.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{yaleprogramonclimatechangecommunication2012climate, author = {{Yale Program on Climate Change Communication}}, title = {{climate change in the american mind}}, institution = {Yale Program on Climate Change Communication}, year = {2012}, month = sep, url = {https://climatecommunication.yale.edu/app/uploads/2016/02/2012_10_Americans’-Global-Warming-Beliefs-and-Attitudes-in-September-2012.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }