Actually, Your Neighbors Really Do Care About Climate
The misperception that many Americans are indifferent to the growing threat stops people from taking action.
Not good for breathing.
Photographer: Kamil Krzaczynski/AFP/Getty Images
The first step in solving a problem is recognizing you have one. And indeed, most Americans say they know we’re facing a monumental climate threat. They just need to be convinced that other people tend to feel exactly the same way and that they have the power to do something about it.
With every disaster-filled year, it becomes easier to convince people that the climate is turning against them. As we speak, tens of millions of Americans from Texas to Florida are suffering under relentless record heat and humidity. After years of being wracked by climate-fueled disasters from heat waves to hurricanes, solid majorities of voters in even reliably conservative Texas and Florida believe climate change is real and requires more action, according to recent polls.