The Yale Project on Climate Change announces new paper: Knowledge of Climate Change Across Global Warming`s Six Americas

 Anthony Leiserowitz with the Yale Project on Climate Change Communications announces a new report that draws from a national study they conducted last year on what Americans understand about how the climate system works, and the causes, impacts, and potential solutions to global warming and is available here.

Summary of Findings:

Please visit the website to download the full report, and stay tuned for the important reserach concerning teenagers.

• Knowledge about climate change varies widely across the Six Americas - 49 percent of the Alarmed received a passing grade (A, B, or C), compared to 33 percent of the Concerned, 16 percent of the Cautious, 17 percent of the Doubtful, 4 percent of the Dismissive, and 5 percent of the Disengaged.
• In general, the Alarmed and the Concerned better understand how the climate system works and the causes, consequences, and solutions to climate change than the Disengaged, the Doubtful and the Dismissive.
• Occasionally the Doubtful and Dismissive have as good or a better understanding than the Alarmed or Concerned.
• Important misconceptions exist leading many to misunderstand the causes and therefore the solutions to climate change. For example, many Americans confuse climate change and the hole in the ozone layer. Such misconceptions were particularly apparent for the Alarmed and Concerned segments.

In a few weeks The Yale Project on Climate Change Communications will be releasing a report on climate change knowledge among American teenagers, providing a window into how well the nation’s schools are teaching this topic.