Yale Program on Climate Change Communication

Report Summary

Highlights:

• Three in ten (29%) have joined or would join a campaign to convince elected officials to take action to reduce global warming.
• Nearly four in ten (36%) have joined or would join a campaign to convince elected officials to pass laws increasing energy efficiency and the use of renewable energy as a way to reduce America’s dependence on fossil fuels.
• About half of Americans (53%) say they would sign a petition about global warming if asked by a person they “like and respect.”
• About four in ten say that, if asked, they would sign a pledge to vote only for political candidates that share their views on global warming (39%).
• One in four Americans would support an organization engaging in non-violent civil disobedience against corporate or government activities that make global warming worse (24%) and one in six (17%) say they would personally engage in such activities.
• Three in ten (29%) say that, in the past 12 months, they have rewarded companies that are taking steps to reduce global warming by buying their products.
• About one in four (24%) report that in the past 12 months, they have punished companies that are opposing steps to reduce global warming by not purchasing their products.
• About half of Americans (48%) say that they intend to engage in consumer activism over the next 12 months – rewarding companies by buying their products and/or punishing companies by not buying their products – based on whether or not companies have taken steps to reduce global warming.

The report also includes measures of Americans’ efforts to conserve energy at home and on the road and communication behavior with family and friends. It includes an Executive Summary and the results broken down by Global Warming’s Six Americas.