Re: Public opinion and climate change

[Susi Moser]

Hi Henrik - The literature is vast! For long-term surveys of views check the regular Gallup Polls. At least that way you keep getting the same standard methodology and hence a more comparable perspective. MANY others have done studies, and you can easily search for them with key words like attitude, public understanding, public opinion AND climate change or global warming -- they are obviously slightly different but get at the same thing. Below I just list a small selection. Brewer, T. L. 2003. Seeds of change in the US: Public opinion ahead of politicians on climate change. New Economy 10: 150-154. Bord, R. J., R. E. O'Connor, and A. Fisher. 2000. In what sense does the public need to understand global climate change? Public Understanding of Science 9: 205-218. (search for more by these authors on mental models and the challenges the American public has in understanding climate change) Immerwahr, J. 1999. Waiting for a signal: Public attitudes toward global warming, the environment and geophysical research. Pages 18pp. AGU. (it's on their website) Kempton, W. 1991. Public understanding of global warming. Society and Natural Resources 4: 331-345. —. 1997. How the public views climate change. Environment 39: 12-21, 41. Krosnick, J. A., A. L. Holbrook, and P. S. Visser. 2000. The impact of the fall 1997 debate about global warming on American public opinion. Public Understanding of Science 9: 239-260. Leiserowitz, A. 2003. American opinions on global warming: Project results. Pages 14 pp. University of Oregon, Eugene, OR. (check for additional publications by Tony; a recent one done after The Day After Tomorrow appeared in Environment) Shanahan, J., and J. Good. 2000. Heat and hot air: Influence of local temperature on journalists' coverage of global warming. Public Understanding of Science 9: 285-295. (he has similar ones looking at TV meteorologists; should be on his personal webpage) Stamm, K. R., F. Clark, and P. R. Eblascas. 2000. Mass communication and public understanding of environmental problems: The case of global warming. Public Understanding of Science 9: 219-237. Sterman, J. D. 2002. Cloudy skies: Assessing public understanding of global warming. System Dynamics Review 18. (They have published elsewhere, too.) Trumbo, C. W., and J. Shanahan. 2000. Social research on climate change: Where we have been, where we are, and where we might go. Public Understanding of Science 9: 199-204. Ungar, S. 2000. Knowledge, ignorance and the popular culture: Climate change versus ozone hole. Public Understanding of Science 9: 297-312. Weingart, P., A. Engels, and P. Pansegrau. 2000. Risks of communication: Discourses on climate change in science, politics, and the mass media. Public Understanding of Science 9: 261-283. There also was a recent new survey study done at MIT - bit problamatic in the methodology department, but several MIT researchers have done studies in the past (search for Sterman et al). I guess, I'll be a bit self-promoting and add the recent article I published with my colleague Lisa Dilling in Environment: Moser, S. and L. Dilling. 2004. Making climate hot: Communicating the urgency and challenge of global climate change. Environment 46(10): 32–46. hope this helps for starters... Susi Henrik Selin wrote: Hello, I have a student who wants to write a paper on US public opinion on climate change but has a hard time finding material on this. There is a fair bit of material on public opinion and environmental issues in general, but these seem to be less material specifically on climate change. Does anyone know about any books, articles, reports etc on public opinion and climate change? Is there an easy way to get access to different opinion polls on climate change to see how opinions have (or have not) changed over time? Thanks, Henrik -- ***************************************** Susanne C. Moser, Ph.D. Institute for the Study of Society and Environment (ISSE) National Center for Atmospheric Research P.O.Box 3000 Boulder, CO 80307-3000 Tel.: 303.497.8132 Fax.: 303.497.8125 Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Web: http://www.isse.ucar.edu/moser/index.html "A society grows great when old men plant trees whose shade they know they shall never sit in." Greek Proverb ******************************************