CARI: Center for Applied Rural Innovation

 

Title

Global Climate Change: Opinions and Perceptions of Rural Nebraskans

Document Type

Article

Date of this Version

August 2008

Comments

Center Research Report 08-2, August 2008.

It is predicted that the earth’s climate will change because of the buildup of greenhouse gases. However, the exact effect of these gases on the climate is difficult to predict. Given these conditions, what do rural Nebraskans think about global climate change? Do they think global climate change will impact them? What are their opinions about the causes and effects of global climate change? This paper provides a detailed analysis of these questions.

This report details 2,496 responses to the 2008 Nebraska Rural Poll, the thirteenth annual effort to understand rural Nebraskans’ perceptions. Respondents were asked a series of questions about global climate change. For all questions, comparisons are made among different respondent subgroups, that is, comparisons by age, occupation, region, etc. Based on these analyses, some key findings emerged:

• Most rural Nebraskans report that they understand the issue of global climate change either fairly or very well. Twenty-one percent say they understand the issue very well and one-half (50%) understand it fairly well. Three percent say they don’t understand the issue at all and 22 percent answered “not very well.” Four percent are unsure.

• Rural Nebraskans are most concerned about global climate change impacting the United States. Over one-half (60%) are concerned or very concerned about global climate change impacting the United States. Fifty-two percent are concerned or very concerned about climate change impacting Nebraska and one-half (50%) are concerned or very concerned about it impacting their family. Less than one-half of rural Nebraskans are concerned or very concerned about climate change impacting their community (48%) or other countries (49%).

• Most rural Nebraskans believe climate change is already happening. Over one-half (58%) of rural Nebraskans believe climate change is already happening. Seventeen percent are not sure about their views. Twelve percent think climate change will not happen in their lifetime but will affect future generations. One percent think climate change will happen in the next few years and seven percent say it will happen in their lifetime. Five percent say climate change will never happen.

• Most rural Nebraskans believe that our actions contribute to global climate change. Sixty-five percent of rural Nebraskans agree or strongly agree that “human activity, including industry and transportation, is a significant cause of climate change.” Fourteen percent disagree or strongly disagree with the statement and 22 percent neither agree nor disagree. Similarly, just over one-half (51%) of rural Nebraskans agree or strongly agree that “global climate change is something people can control.” Just under one-quarter (23%) disagree or strongly disagree with that statement and 26 percent neither agree nor disagree.

• Most rural Nebraskans believe that we need to make changes in our behaviors to reduce the impacts of global climate change. The majority (84%) of rural Nebraskans agree or strongly agree that “we will have to change our lifestyles to reduce energy consumption.” Only six percent disagree or strongly disagree with that statement. And, 70 percent agree or strongly agree that “it is my responsibility to help reduce the impacts of global climate change.” Only nine percent disagree or strongly disagree while 21 percent neither agree nor disagree.

• Most rural Nebraskans think change is required to solve global climate change. Just over one-half (53%) agree or strongly agree that “global climate change requires immediate action by the government.” Twenty-one percent disagree or strongly disagree with the statement and just over one-quarter (27%) neither agree nor disagree. Most rural Nebraskans (65%) disagree or strongly disagree that “we will do nothing since global climate change is not a problem.” Only 11 percent agree or strongly agree and just under one-quarter (24%) neither agree nor disagree with the statement. Forty-five percent of rural Nebraskans disagree or strongly disagree that “global climate change is a problem but the U.S. won’t do anything about it.” Twenty-one percent agree or strongly agree with the statement and approximately one-third (34%) neither agree nor disagree.

• Opinions are mixed regarding whether or not too much fuss is made about global climate change. One-half (50%) of rural Nebraskans disagree or strongly disagree with the statement “too much fuss is made about global climate change.” Thirty percent agree or strongly agree with the statement and 21 percent neither agree nor disagree.

• Opinions are mixed on whether or not technologies can be developed to solve the problem of global climate change. Forty-two percent of rural Nebraskans agree or strongly agree that “firms and government researchers will develop new technologies to solve the problem.” One-quarter (25%) disagree or strongly disagree and approximately one-third (34%) neither agree nor disagree with the statement.

• Opinions are mixed on whether or not current climate change is due to normal climate patterns. Over one-third (37%) of rural Nebraskans agree or strongly agree that “current climate change is due to normal climate patterns.” However, 34 percent disagree or strongly disagree with the statement. Twenty-nine percent neither agree nor disagree.

• Persons with agriculture occupations are more likely than persons with different occupations to agree that too much fuss is made about global climate change. Forty-four percent of persons with occupations in agriculture agree with this statement, compared to 19 percent of persons with food service or personal care occupations or persons with healthcare support or public safety occupations.

• Persons with agriculture occupations are more likely than persons with different occupations to agree that current climate change is due to normal climate patterns. Over one-half (52%) of persons with agriculture occupations agree with this statement, compared to 24 percent of persons with food service or personal care occupations.