Key findings: How Americans’ attitudes about climate change differ by generation, party and other factors
Majorities of Americans say the federal government, businesses and other actors are doing too little to reduce the effects of climate change.
Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World
Majorities of Americans say the federal government, businesses and other actors are doing too little to reduce the effects of climate change.
81% of Black Americans consider the outbreak a major threat to public health and about half see it as a major threat to their personal health.
Americans offer a lackluster evaluation of how the country has balanced priorities during the coronavirus outbreak. Fewer than half say the country has given the right amount of priority to the needs of K-12 students, public health or quality of life.
Majorities of Americans support an array of measures to address climate change but stop short of a full break with fossil fuels.
Black Americans stand out from other racial and ethnic groups in their attitudes toward key health care questions associated with the pandemic.
Americans’ expectations for the year ahead include an effective treatment or cure for COVID-19, as well as a vaccine to prevent the disease.
Still about two-in-ten U.S. adults are “pretty certain” they won’t get the vaccine – even when there’s more information.
There are widely held concerns about the safety and effectiveness of a possible vaccine and the pace of the approval process.
As in 2016, 88% of U.S. adults say its benefits outweigh the risks. And the share who consider its preventive benefits to be “very high” rose by 11 points to 56%.
Evolution remains a contentious issue. When asked about it, highly religious Americans’ responses can vary depending on how the question is asked.
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