Yale Program on Climate Change Communication

Report Summary

Highlights:

• Only one in three Americans say they discuss global warming at least occasionally with friends or family, down 8 points since November 2008;

• Few Americans (<8%) communicated publically about global warming in the past 12 months (e.g., online or in the media);

• About one in ten Americans wrote letters, emailed, or phoned a government official about global warming in the past 12 months;

• Of those Americans who contacted a government official in the past 12 months about global warming, three in four say they urged the official to take action to reduce it;

• One in four Americans discussed a company’s “irresponsible environmental behavior” with friends and/or family in the past 12 months;

• Americans who experienced an extreme weather event in the past year were most likely to talk to others about it face-to-face or by phone, while few did so using social media;

• Americans say their own family and friends have the greatest ability to convince them to take action to reduce global warming;

• If asked by a person they “like and respect”, the actions that Americans are most willing to take are signing a petition, attending a public meeting, or attending a neighborhood meeting about global warming;

• Many Americans (24%) would support an organization that engaged in non-violent civil disobedience against corporate or government activities that make global warming worse;

• One in eight people (13%) say they would be willing to personally engage in non-violent civil disobedience against corporate or government activities that make global warming worse.

Key Six America’s Findings

• Two-thirds of the Alarmed have discussed a company’s “irresponsible environmental behavior” at least occasionally with family or friends over the past 12 months; fewer than half of the other “Six Americas” have done so;

• The Alarmed are the most likely to have written letters, emailed, or phoned a government official about global warming in the past 12 months;

• All Six Americas say their own family and friends have the greatest ability to convince them to take action to reduce global warming.