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"The Deteriorating Environment Is a Public Concern, but Americans Misunderstand Their Contribution to the Problem" originally appeared on Inside Climate News, a nonprofit, independent news organization that covers climate, energy and the environment.
Summary
A global survey reveals that 70% of respondents are extremely concerned about environmental issues, believing human activities are pushing nature past recovery points. Despite this concern, many Americans feel disconnected from climate change responsibility. The survey indicates a strong desire for laws against severe environmental harm, signaling a growing movement towards recognizing ecocide as a crime.
Highlights -🌍
- Global Concern: 70% of people believe human actions are harming the environment.
- Tech Optimism: 40% think technology can solve environmental issues.
- U.S. Disconnect: Many Americans do not see themselves as vulnerable to climate change.
- Responsibility Shift: Only 15% of Americans feel responsible for climate issues.
- Ecocide Awareness: 75% support criminalizing severe environmental damage.
- Emerging Laws: Countries like France and Chile are moving towards ecocide laws.
Roughly 70 percent of 22,000 people polled online earlier this year agreed that human activities were pushing the Earth past “tipping points,” thresholds beyond which nature cannot recover, like loss of the Amazon rainforest or collapse of the Atlantic Ocean’s currents. The same number of respondents said the world needs to reduce carbon emissions within the next decade.
Just under 40 percent of respondents said technological advances can solve environmental challenges.
The Global Commons survey, conducted for two collectives of “economic thinkers” and scientists known as Earth4All and the Global Commons Alliance, polled people across 22 countries, including low-, middle- and high-income nations. The survey’s stated aim was to assess public opinion about “societal transformations” and “planetary stewardship.”
[…]
Americans are included in the global majority, but a more complex picture emerged in the details of the survey, conducted by Ipsos.
Roughly one in two Americans said they are not very or not at all exposed to environmental and climate change risks. Those perceptions contrast sharply with empirical evidence showing that climate change is having an impact in nearly every corner of the United States. A warming planet has intensified hurricanes battering coasts, droughts striking middle American farms and wildfires threatening homes and air quality across the country. And climate shocks are driving up prices of some food, like chocolate and olive oil, and consumer goods.
Americans also largely believe they do not bear responsibility for global environmental problems. Only about 15 percent of U.S. respondents said that high- and middle-income Americans share responsibility for climate change and natural destruction. Instead, they attribute the most blame to businesses and governments of wealthy countries.
Read the full post at Inside Climate News.
