Report · Jun 27, 2019
Climate Change in the American Mind: April 2019
By Anthony Leiserowitz, Edward Maibach, Seth Rosenthal, John Kotcher, Parrish Bergquist, Matthew Ballew, Matthew Goldberg and Abel Gustafson
Filed under: Beliefs & Attitudes
4. Perceived Risks of Global Warming
4.1 Nearly four in ten Americans say they have personally experienced the effects of global warming.
Nearly four in ten Americans (38%) say they have personally experienced the effects of global warming, while about six in ten (61%) say they have not.
4.2 About four in ten Americans think people in the U.S. are being harmed “right now” by global warming.
About four in ten (38%) think people in the U.S. are being harmed by global warming “right now.”
4.3 Many Americans think they will be harmed by global warming, but they think others will be harmed more.
Many Americans understand that global warming will cause harm. Americans are most likely to think that plant and animal species (71%) and/or future generations of people (69%) will be harmed a “moderate amount” or a “great deal” by global warming. About half or more also think the world’s poor (64%), people in developing countries (64%), people in the U.S. (59%), people in their community (48%), and/or their family (48%) will be harmed. Americans are least likely to think they themselves will be harmed (44%).
