Climate Change in the American Mind

The May 2017 survey indicates that 70% of Americans believe global warming is happening, with 58% attributing it to human activities. While 59% believe it affects U.S. weather and 40% report personal experience with its effects, most perceive it as a distant threat. Public understanding of the scientific consensus remains low, with only 13% aware that over 90% of climate scientists agree on human-caused warming. Despite broad support for climate education in schools (78%), optimism for successful human intervention is low, with only 7% believing humans can and will successfully reduce global warming.

• Seven in ten Americans (70%) believe global warming is occurring, a figure that nearly matches the peak of 71% recorded in 2008. Conversely, 13% believe it is not happening.
• A majority of Americans (58%) believe global warming is primarily caused by human activities, the highest level since the survey's inception in 2008. Meanwhile, 30% attribute it to natural environmental changes.
• There is a significant gap in public knowledge regarding scientific consensus; only 13% of Americans know that more than 90% of climate scientists are convinced that human-caused global warming is happening.
• While 59% of Americans believe global warming affects weather in the United States, most view it as a distant threat. They are more likely to believe it will harm future generations (71%), plant and animal species (71%), and the Earth (70%) than themselves (43%) or their own family (47%).
• Forty percent of Americans report having personally experienced the effects of global warming, which is the highest level recorded since 2008.
• Public engagement with the topic is relatively low: 67% of Americans rarely or never discuss global warming with family and friends, and only 19% hear people they know talk about it at least once a month.
• There is strong public support for climate education, with 78% of Americans agreeing that schools should teach children about the causes, consequences, and potential solutions to global warming.
• The primary motivation for wanting to reduce global warming is to provide a better life for children and grandchildren, cited by 24% of respondents.
• Optimism regarding the ability of humans to successfully reduce global warming is very low; only 7% believe humans can and will do so, while 48% are unsure if necessary actions will be taken.

APA

Yale Program on Climate Change Communication (2017). Climate Change in the American Mind. https://climatecommunication.yale.edu/app/uploads/2017/07/Climate-Change-American-Mind-May-2017.pdf

Chicago

Yale Program on Climate Change Communication. Climate Change in the American Mind. 2017. https://climatecommunication.yale.edu/app/uploads/2017/07/Climate-Change-American-Mind-May-2017.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Yale Program on Climate Change Communication |title=Climate Change in the American Mind |date=May 2017 |url=https://climatecommunication.yale.edu/app/uploads/2017/07/Climate-Change-American-Mind-May-2017.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{yaleprogramonclimatechangecommunication2017climate, author = {{Yale Program on Climate Change Communication}}, title = {{Climate Change in the American Mind}}, institution = {Yale Program on Climate Change Communication}, year = {2017}, month = may, url = {https://climatecommunication.yale.edu/app/uploads/2017/07/Climate-Change-American-Mind-May-2017.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }