Donald Trump supporters are less likely than Hillary Clinton supporters to trust scientists for information about climate change, to think that climate change is
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causing problems now, or to support action to reduce its risks, according to new survey research at the University of New Hampshire. Trump supporters are also less likely to know or accept scientific observations that CO2 levels are increasing, or that Arctic ice is decreasing.
The report is based on the first Polar, Environment, and Science Survey, conducted in August by Lawrence Hamilton, professor of sociology in the College of Liberal Arts and fellow in the Carsey School of Public Policy. This survey explored Americans’ perceptions about climate change and their basic knowledge concerning the north and south polar regions. Overall, more than 60 percent of those surveyed agree that human activities are changing the Earth’s climate. And most people (72 percent) trust science agencies such as NASA to provide them with information about climate change. Friends and family ranked second (36 percent) for information about climate change, indicating that peer to peer communication plays an important role as well.
According to the survey, less than one in five Americans knows that their country includes territory with thousands of people living in it in the Arctic, and less than half understand where the North and South Poles are located.
“These results highlight Americans’ limited knowledge about polar regions, including location of the North and South Poles and the fact that a large part of Alaska, with towns and industry, lies north of the Arctic Circle,” Hamilton said. “Public uncertainty on facts like this points toward areas where better education and science communication could help to improve understanding.”
A majority of those surveyed recognize that the Arctic sea ice is declining and carbon dioxide levels are rising, but knowledge of these climate-related facts shows partisan divisions. Although such divisions occur on every question related to climate, among each candidate’s supporters there is a range of views. For example, one-third of Trump supporters accept that human activities are changing the climate, and almost 40 percent think that renewable energy should be a high priority. They count among the 63 or 64 percent overall holding these views.
“Despite sharp political divisions, there is broad and rising public recognition of climate-change problems and of the need to shift our energy use in response,” Hamilton said.
The report can be found here: https://carsey.unh.edu/publication/north-pole
