How Americans Communicate About Global Warming

The report finds that most Americans rarely discuss global warming, with only 33% doing so occasionally or often with family and friends. Communication is predominantly private and face-to-face, particularly following extreme weather events, while public engagement via social media or government contact remains low. The 'Alarmed' segment of the population is the most active in public and political communication, whereas all segments identify close personal relationships as the most influential factor in convincing them to take action.

• Private discussion of global warming is relatively uncommon; 33% of Americans say they discuss it with friends or family at least occasionally, which is an 8-point decrease since November 2008.
• Public communication about global warming is rare, with fewer than 8% of Americans engaging in activities such as sharing information on Facebook or Twitter, posting online comments, or contacting newspapers and radio programs in the past year.
• Americans who experienced extreme weather events in the past year primarily communicated about those experiences face-to-face (77%) or by phone (66%), with very few using social media.
• Approximately 10% of Americans contacted a government official about global warming in the past 12 months, a rate that has remained stable since 2008; 75% of those who did so urged the official to take action to reduce it.
• Personal relationships are the most effective drivers for action; Americans are most likely to be convinced by a significant other (27%), child (21%), or close friend (17%).
• When asked by a person they 'like and respect', the most likely actions Americans would take are signing a petition (45%), attending a public meeting (36%), or attending a neighborhood meeting (35%).
• A minority of Americans support non-violent civil disobedience against corporate or government activities that exacerbate global warming, with 24% supporting such organizations and 13% willing to personally engage in these activities.
• The 'Alarmed' segment (16% of the population) is the most active in communication, with 67% discussing irresponsible corporate environmental behavior and 29% contacting government officials.
• Facebook usage for news consumption is common across most segments, with the Concerned (57%) being the most likely to read news stories or headlines posted by others on the platform.

APA

Yale Program on Climate Change Communication (2013). How Americans Communicate About Global Warming. https://climatecommunication.yale.edu/app/uploads/2016/02/2013_08_How-Americans-Communicate-About-Global-Warming-April-2013.pdf

Chicago

Yale Program on Climate Change Communication. How Americans Communicate About Global Warming. 2013. https://climatecommunication.yale.edu/app/uploads/2016/02/2013_08_How-Americans-Communicate-About-Global-Warming-April-2013.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Yale Program on Climate Change Communication |title=How Americans Communicate About Global Warming |date=April 2013 |url=https://climatecommunication.yale.edu/app/uploads/2016/02/2013_08_How-Americans-Communicate-About-Global-Warming-April-2013.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{yaleprogramonclimatechangecommunication2013how, author = {{Yale Program on Climate Change Communication}}, title = {{How Americans Communicate About Global Warming}}, institution = {Yale Program on Climate Change Communication}, year = {2013}, month = apr, url = {https://climatecommunication.yale.edu/app/uploads/2016/02/2013_08_How-Americans-Communicate-About-Global-Warming-April-2013.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }