67% of Americans perceive a rise in extreme weather, but partisans differ over government efforts to address it
46% of U.S. adults say the area where they live has had an extreme weather event over the past 12 months.
Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World
46% of U.S. adults say the area where they live has had an extreme weather event over the past 12 months.
Nearly seven-in-ten Americans think it is very important for the United States to be a world leader in scientific achievements.
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.
There’s a 14-point gap between the shares of White and Black adults in the U.S. who say they have a great deal of confidence in scientists.
44% of Americans have a great deal of confidence in the scientific community, while 47% have only some confidence and 7% have hardly any.
Majorities of Americans say the federal government, businesses and other actors are doing too little to reduce the effects of climate change.
Republicans ages 18 to 39 are more likely than their GOP elders to think humans have a large role in climate change.
Americans’ expectations for the year ahead include an effective treatment or cure for COVID-19, as well as a vaccine to prevent the disease.
For Earth Day 2020, we take stock of public opinion in the United States about global climate change and the environment.
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%.
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