3 ms·

I don't think that's an accurate interpretation of what americans think. The majority of Americans don't think the Government is doing enough. https://www.pew

by meany 5y ago

I don't think that's an accurate interpretation of what americans think. The majority of Americans don't think the Government is doing enough. https://www.pewresearch.org/science/2019/11/25/u-s-public-views-on-climate-and-energy/ https://www.pewresearch.org/science/2019/11/25/u-s-public-vi... "About two-thirds of U.S. adults (67%) say the federal government is doing too little to reduce the effects of climate change" https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/04/18/a-look-at-how-people-around-the-world-view-climate-change/ https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/04/18/a-look-at-h... According to this: 59% of Americans see it as a major threat and 23% see it as a minor threat. This is close to the Australia (60% and 29%) and UK (66% and 23%) numbers. I think the media discussion in America on many issues (policing, masks/vaccines, climate change) presents a distorted view of what the majority believes, because sensational, clashing talking heads drive more ad dollars. So why don't we see more action on climate change in America? Well, some reasons: 1) Lobbying efforts often push back or at least water down any change. 3) America's two party system plays to the extremes in both camps rather than the majority viewpoint, which gets lost. 1) most people have more pressing near term concerns that dominate their choices.

WhompingWindows 5y ago
Those polls don't really tell us how their view of temperature changes are affecting their view of policy and climate. If 67% think that, that's basically covering the West and the East, which is the areas covered by storms and fires. But that last 33% of voters elects a disproportionate number of senators, places like KS or AR have the same number of Senators as California, even though the number of citizens is a mere fraction. I just worry that there's a disproportionate share of power and votes in the hands of individuals who don't think a jot about climate, and maybe the temperature numbers "feel" small to them. Regardless of the exact numbers, my point is similar to the original article: people don't understand the ramifications here. Even if they intuitively know 3C is almost 2X as much as 3F, they still may not understand the article's points either.

by meany 5y ago

WhompingWindows 5y ago

Those polls don't really tell us how their view of temperature changes are affecting their view of policy and climate. If 67% think that, that's basically covering the West and the East, which is the areas covered by storms and fires. But that last 33% of voters elects a disproportionate number of senators, places like KS or AR have the same number of Senators as California, even though the number of citizens is a mere fraction. I just worry that there's a disproportionate share of power and votes in the hands of individuals who don't think a jot about climate, and maybe the temperature numbers "feel" small to them. Regardless of the exact numbers, my point is similar to the original article: people don't understand the ramifications here. Even if they intuitively know 3C is almost 2X as much as 3F, they still may not understand the article's points either.