Just came across this tool from Yale, the Climate Opinions Maps- 2016, and its fascinating and disturbing at the same time. Something great about the United States is that we are free to express our thoughts and ideas without fear of persecution. However, that freedom also comes with a responsibility to be informed, ask questions, seek out truths and remain open-minded, trusting of experts but also learning for yourself.
Two words that are very important: Fact & Opinion.
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a thing that is indisputably the case.
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a view or judgment formed about something, not necessarily based on fact or knowledge.
Now, back to the Yale tool. These are the opinions of polled Americans. It’s alarming to know how many people still think there is a reputable dispute over climate change being real, that it is or is not caused by humans, and if it’s something to be concerned about. Facts, not opinions, about the science of understanding climate change and its impacts on our quality of life are easy enough to find. NASA is a good place to start.
However, from this Yale tool we see that 26% of those polled still believe climate change is the result of “natural causes”, 32% are not worried about its impact on our health or economy (but maybe they should be!), 40% do not believe it’s already harming people in the US (think Sandy & Katrina or any of the recent droughts, heat waves, crazy blizzards…) and 75% do not hear about global warming in the media at least once a week!
Can that really be true?
The Washington Post, The New York Times, NPR, even Fox News have stories about climate change or its impacts on the world around us at least once a week. The hyperlinks are an example of simple search on each site for the past 7 days.
I find hope in the fact that these opinions are not the majority. And I find even more hope in the fact that there are people in Congress, right now, building a coalition of legislators that are looking at policy changes to help mitigate climate change impacts.
“The Climate Solutions Caucus is a bipartisan group in the US House of Representatives which will explore policy options that address the impacts, causes, and challenges of our changing climate. The caucus was founded in February of 2016 by two south-Florida representatives Rep. Carlos Curbelo (R-FL) and Rep. Ted Deutch (D-FL) who will serve as co-chairs of the caucus.
The Caucus will serve as an organization to educate members on economically-viable options to reduce climate risk and protect our nation’s economy, security, infrastructure, agriculture, water supply and public safety,” according to documents filed with the Committee on House Administration.”