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Climate Change: What Must Be Done, Now

Writers argue for eating less meat, relocating to safer zones, promoting nuclear energy and passing a carbon tax.

To the Editor:

Re “ Adults Are Failing Us on Climate ,” by Greta Thunberg, Adriana Calderón, Farzana Faruk Jhumu and Eric Njuguna (Opinion guest essay, Sunday Review, Aug. 22):

I’m upset. I’m worried. I am angry because the adults have ruined Earth for my generation! You have trashed this world; you have polluted it. The fact that I, a 10-year-old, have to write this letter is proving your failure.

But if you believe that we can save the planet, then you can embrace change. You can vote for world leaders who will stop climate change! There are billions of children around the world, and all of us deserve to live in a world with clean oceans, clean air and a healthy planet.

Our lives are already being affected by climate change. Think about how horrible life could be for the next generation if we don’t act now. Heat waves would be so terrible they could actually make parts of the planet unsafe for us. And rising sea levels would be so serious that some coastal areas could become uninhabitable. We are at the beginning of a mass extinction; it’s been estimated that up to 200 species of plants and animals go extinct every single day , and that isn’t acceptable.

We must push world leaders to act on climate change so that life can continue. Change is coming, and only we can fix the future.

Lily G. Haussamen Las Cruces, N.M.

It is time to get serious. The conclusions of the sixth Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report on climate change are devastating, and, unfortunately, not surprising. It’s too late to stop the natural disasters, conflicts and resource shortages that are coming.

For those of us who cannot afford to colonize space, here is my dead serious advice: Plan immediately to relocate to a buffer zone — the Great Lakes region or the Northeast — and buy property. Stake yourself on high ground and purchase flood insurance, sewer backup insurance and every kind of insurance. Hook yourself up to solar panels and a backup generator. Build swales and retention ponds to collect excess floodwater. Grow your own food.

If you haven’t already, scrap plans to have (or have more) children. Use the energy you would put toward nurturing a family into nurturing your community and fighting for survival on an increasingly inhospitable planet.

Demanding action from politicians is not enough. Run for office and get other climate activists to run for office. We need a government that actually protects our air, water and soil. Soon it will be a matter of life or death, if it is not already.

Clara Fang Detroit The writer is founder of Climate Diversity.

Re “ Humanity Must Take a Stand on Climate ” (editorial, Aug. 15):

There is no doubt about The Times’s commitment to climate change. So it’s very hard to understand how your editorial can entirely neglect agriculture, which causes roughly one third of direct emissions .

The United Nations predicts a steady increase in meat consumption over the next three decades, and with that increase will come huge increases in carbon emissions, plus methane and nitrous oxide, which are 30 and 300 times more warming than carbon. Education has not stemmed the tide, but making meat from plants and cultivating meat from cells could. No one is coming for anyone’s burger. These technologies create products that are indistinguishable from the meat Americans love, but with a fraction of the direct and indirect adverse climate impact .

We can’t keep ignoring the contribution of agriculture to climate change. If we really believe that climate change is “code red for humanity,” the climate community should support government funding for research as well as private sector incentives for plant-based and cultivated meat.

Bruce Friedrich Washington The writer is the founder and chief executive of the Good Food Institute.

As you say, the industrial world has known about this problem for decades but has done little. The science is clear-cut, but the politics are anything but. Any meaningful actions in the United States are met with stiff resistance from mainly one political party.

Having been concerned about this for a long time, including teaching about the problem at the University of California San Diego, I’m left wondering if before the planet can return to prehumanity conditions, humans have to cease to exist.

Jeffrey Bada Encinitas, Calif. The writer is professor emeritus of marine chemistry, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California San Diego.

Yes, a hotter future for this beautiful Earth is now locked in. And yes, we can and must act immediately to prevent the worst effects and preserve a livable world for our children, grandchildren and all beings.

However, the measures you recommended for mitigating this crisis left out one crucial tool: putting a price on carbon. Prominent economists agree that pricing carbon is the quickest and most effective way to immediately begin to bring down greenhouse gases in the atmosphere and stop escalating temperatures. Returning revenues to American households would help pay for the rising costs of goods and energy, and spur innovation in renewable energy.

Linda Reichert Chester Springs, Pa.

The editorial calls for big investments in wind, solar and nuclear power to move away from fossil fuels and get to zero net carbon emissions by 2050. Although unpopular, nuclear power will play a vital role that must not be undervalued.

While it’s been comforting to see the adoption of renewable power sources (hydro, wind and solar) and the grass roots efforts by citizens’ groups to get a carbon fee and dividend program passed by Congress, it’s not enough. Projections by the Energy Information Administration show that renewables will only cover about 42 percent of our demand for power by 2050. Nevertheless, we must fully phase out fossil fuels by then.

The only way to fill the gap is to accelerate the adoption of nuclear power. After high-profile incidents like Fukushima, the world has been moving in the other direction. We need to reverse this trend and rapidly deploy newer, safer and more cost-effective fourth-generation nuclear power technology . This is essential to halt the accelerating effects of climate change and buy us enough time to implement long-term power solutions.

William L. Bain Bellevue, Wash.

Re “ G.O.P. Shifts on Climate, but Not on Fossil Fuels ” (front page, Aug. 14):

The minuscule changes in policy positions of Republicans acknowledging that climate change is, at least in part, human-caused are an example of cynicism on steroids. It is not because they now understand the science better. It is because the position of denial is so out of step that it’s untenable, even for Republicans comfortable with the Big Lie.

They remain comfortable with another big lie — that we can continue burning fossil fuels and still be OK. They will trot out glib phrases meant to dismiss concern about emissions. They will try any spin to protect fossil fuel interests. Now that they are acknowledging the reality of human-caused climate change, protecting Big Oil is a stunning display of callous cynicism toward the citizens facing climate disasters.

Republicans already know that a carbon tax would reduce emissions and avoid an economic downturn, but they won’t support it until public opinion gives them no choice.

Gary M. Stewart Laguna Beach, Calif.

In an unintended way, Senator Bill Cassidy is absolutely correct when he says, “We cannot live without fossil fuels or chemicals, period, end of story.”

If this level of policy analysis continues to prevail on Capitol Hill, it is “end of story.” Of course we can’t shut down the petrochemical industry overnight, but we must transition quickly to a clean energy economy. The technology exists to do this. What doesn’t exist yet is the political will of the majority of our representatives, Republican and Democrat, to break away from their corporate benefactors and move quickly toward power generation that does not burn fossil fuels.

People, you and I, must get involved to get the message through to our politicians. Otherwise, “end of story” is an apt characterization for our planet.

John Burr Jacksonville, Fla.

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Essay on Global Warming

Updated on
Apr 27, 2024

Being able to write an essay is an integral part of mastering any language. Essays form an integral part of many academic and scholastic exams like the SAT , and UPSC amongst many others. It is a crucial evaluative part of English proficiency tests as well like IELTS , TOEFL , etc. Major essays are meant to emphasize public issues of concern that can have significant consequences on the world. To understand the concept of Global Warming and its causes and effects, we must first examine the many factors that influence the planet’s temperature and what this implies for the world’s future. Here’s an unbiased look at the essay on Global Warming and other essential related topics.

Short Essay on Global Warming and Climate Change?

Since the industrial and scientific revolutions, Earth’s resources have been gradually depleted. Furthermore, the start of the world’s population’s exponential expansion is particularly hard on the environment. Simply put, as the population’s need for consumption grows, so does the use of natural resources , as well as the waste generated by that consumption.

Climate change has been one of the most significant long-term consequences of this. Climate change is more than just the rise or fall of global temperatures; it also affects rain cycles, wind patterns, cyclone frequencies, sea levels, and other factors. It has an impact on all major life groupings on the planet.

What is Global Warming?

Global warming is the unusually rapid increase in Earth’s average surface temperature over the past century, primarily due to the greenhouse gases released by people burning fossil fuels . The greenhouse gases consist of methane, nitrous oxide, ozone, carbon dioxide, water vapour, and chlorofluorocarbons. The weather prediction has been becoming more complex with every passing year, with seasons more indistinguishable, and the general temperatures hotter.

The number of hurricanes, cyclones, droughts, floods, etc., has risen steadily since the onset of the 21st century. The supervillain behind all these changes is Global Warming. The name is quite self-explanatory; it means the rise in the temperature of the Earth.

What are the Causes of Global Warming?

According to recent studies, many scientists believe the following are the primary four causes of global warming:

Deforestation
Greenhouse emissions
Carbon emissions per capita

Extreme global warming is causing natural disasters , which can be seen all around us. One of the causes of global warming is the extreme release of greenhouse gases that become trapped on the earth’s surface, causing the temperature to rise. Similarly, volcanoes contribute to global warming by spewing excessive CO2 into the atmosphere.

The increase in population is one of the major causes of Global Warming. This increase in population also leads to increased air pollution . Automobiles emit a lot of CO2, which remains in the atmosphere. This increase in population is also causing deforestation, which contributes to global warming.

The earth’s surface emits energy into the atmosphere in the form of heat, keeping the balance with the incoming energy. Global warming depletes the ozone layer, bringing about the end of the world. There is a clear indication that increased global warming will result in the extinction of all life on Earth’s surface.

Also Read: Land, Soil, Water, Natural Vegetation, and Wildlife Resources

Solutions for Global Warming

Of course, industries and multinational conglomerates emit more carbon than the average citizen. Nonetheless, activism and community effort are the only viable ways to slow the worsening effects of global warming. Furthermore, at the state or government level, world leaders must develop concrete plans and step-by-step programmes to ensure that no further harm is done to the environment in general.

Although we are almost too late to slow the rate of global warming, finding the right solution is critical. Everyone, from individuals to governments, must work together to find a solution to Global Warming. Some of the factors to consider are pollution control, population growth, and the use of natural resources.

One very important contribution you can make is to reduce your use of plastic. Plastic is the primary cause of global warming, and recycling it takes years. Another factor to consider is deforestation, which will aid in the control of global warming. More tree planting should be encouraged to green the environment. Certain rules should also govern industrialization. Building industries in green zones that affect plants and species should be prohibited.

Effects of Global Warming

Global warming is a real problem that many people want to disprove to gain political advantage. However, as global citizens, we must ensure that only the truth is presented in the media.

This decade has seen a significant impact from global warming. The two most common phenomena observed are glacier retreat and arctic shrinkage. Glaciers are rapidly melting. These are clear manifestations of climate change.

Another significant effect of global warming is the rise in sea level. Flooding is occurring in low-lying areas as a result of sea-level rise. Many countries have experienced extreme weather conditions. Every year, we have unusually heavy rain, extreme heat and cold, wildfires, and other natural disasters.

Similarly, as global warming continues, marine life is being severely impacted. This is causing the extinction of marine species as well as other problems. Furthermore, changes are expected in coral reefs, which will face extinction in the coming years. These effects will intensify in the coming years, effectively halting species expansion. Furthermore, humans will eventually feel the negative effects of Global Warming.

Also Read: Concept of Sustainable Development

Sample Essays on Global Warming

Here are some sample essays on Global Warming:

Essay on Global Warming Paragraph in 100 – 150 words

Global Warming is caused by the increase of carbon dioxide levels in the earth’s atmosphere and is a result of human activities that have been causing harm to our environment for the past few centuries now. Global Warming is something that can’t be ignored and steps have to be taken to tackle the situation globally. The average temperature is constantly rising by 1.5 degrees Celsius over the last few years.

The best method to prevent future damage to the earth, cutting down more forests should be banned and Afforestation should be encouraged. Start by planting trees near your homes and offices, participate in events, and teach the importance of planting trees. It is impossible to undo the damage but it is possible to stop further harm.

Essay on Global Warming in 250 Words

Over a long period, it is observed that the temperature of the earth is increasing. This affected wildlife, animals, humans, and every living organism on earth. Glaciers have been melting, and many countries have started water shortages, flooding, and erosion and all this is because of global warming.

No one can be blamed for global warming except for humans. Human activities such as gases released from power plants, transportation, and deforestation have increased gases such as carbon dioxide, CFCs, and other pollutants in the earth’s atmosphere. The main question is how can we control the current situation and build a better world for future generations. It starts with little steps by every individual.

Start using cloth bags made from sustainable materials for all shopping purposes, instead of using high-watt lights use energy-efficient bulbs, switch off the electricity, don’t waste water, abolish deforestation and encourage planting more trees. Shift the use of energy from petroleum or other fossil fuels to wind and solar energy. Instead of throwing out the old clothes donate them to someone so that it is recycled.

Donate old books, don’t waste paper. Above all, spread awareness about global warming. Every little thing a person does towards saving the earth will contribute in big or small amounts. We must learn that 1% effort is better than no effort. Pledge to take care of Mother Nature and speak up about global warming.

Essay on Global Warming in 500 Words

Global warming isn’t a prediction, it is happening! A person denying it or unaware of it is in the most simple terms complicit. Do we have another planet to live on? Unfortunately, we have been bestowed with this one planet only that can sustain life yet over the years we have turned a blind eye to the plight it is in. Global warming is not an abstract concept but a global phenomenon occurring ever so slowly even at this moment. Global Warming is a phenomenon that is occurring every minute resulting in a gradual increase in the Earth’s overall climate. Brought about by greenhouse gases that trap the solar radiation in the atmosphere, global warming can change the entire map of the earth, displacing areas, flooding many countries, and destroying multiple lifeforms. Extreme weather is a direct consequence of global warming but it is not an exhaustive consequence. There are virtually limitless effects of global warming which are all harmful to life on earth. The sea level is increasing by 0.12 inches per year worldwide. This is happening because of the melting of polar ice caps because of global warming. This has increased the frequency of floods in many lowland areas and has caused damage to coral reefs. The Arctic is one of the worst-hit areas affected by global warming. Air quality has been adversely affected and the acidity of the seawater has also increased causing severe damage to marine life forms. Severe natural disasters are brought about by global warming which has had dire effects on life and property. As long as mankind produces greenhouse gases, global warming will continue to accelerate. The consequences are felt at a much smaller scale which will increase to become drastic shortly. The power to save the day lies in the hands of humans, the need is to seize the day. Energy consumption should be reduced on an individual basis. Fuel-efficient cars and other electronics should be encouraged to reduce the wastage of energy sources. This will also improve air quality and reduce the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Global warming is an evil that can only be defeated when fought together. It is better late than never. If we all take steps today, we will have a much brighter future tomorrow. Global warming is the bane of our existence and various policies have come up worldwide to fight it but that is not enough. The actual difference is made when we work at an individual level to fight it. Understanding its import now is crucial before it becomes an irrevocable mistake. Exterminating global warming is of utmost importance and each one of us is as responsible for it as the next.

Also Read: Essay on Library: 100, 200 and 250 Words

Essay on Global Warming UPSC

Always hear about global warming everywhere, but do we know what it is? The evil of the worst form, global warming is a phenomenon that can affect life more fatally. Global warming refers to the increase in the earth’s temperature as a result of various human activities. The planet is gradually getting hotter and threatening the existence of lifeforms on it. Despite being relentlessly studied and researched, global warming for the majority of the population remains an abstract concept of science. It is this concept that over the years has culminated in making global warming a stark reality and not a concept covered in books. Global warming is not caused by one sole reason that can be curbed. Multifarious factors cause global warming most of which are a part of an individual’s daily existence. Burning of fuels for cooking, in vehicles, and for other conventional uses, a large amount of greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide, and methane amongst many others is produced which accelerates global warming. Rampant deforestation also results in global warming as lesser green cover results in an increased presence of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere which is a greenhouse gas. Finding a solution to global warming is of immediate importance. Global warming is a phenomenon that has to be fought unitedly. Planting more trees can be the first step that can be taken toward warding off the severe consequences of global warming. Increasing the green cover will result in regulating the carbon cycle. There should be a shift from using nonrenewable energy to renewable energy such as wind or solar energy which causes less pollution and thereby hinder the acceleration of global warming. Reducing energy needs at an individual level and not wasting energy in any form is the most important step to be taken against global warming. The warning bells are tolling to awaken us from the deep slumber of complacency we have slipped into. Humans can fight against nature and it is high time we acknowledged that. With all our scientific progress and technological inventions, fighting off the negative effects of global warming is implausible. We have to remember that we do not inherit the earth from our ancestors but borrow it from our future generations and the responsibility lies on our shoulders to bequeath them a healthy planet for life to exist.

Climate Change and Global Warming Essay

Global Warming and Climate Change are two sides of the same coin. Both are interrelated with each other and are two issues of major concern worldwide. Greenhouse gases released such as carbon dioxide, CFCs, and other pollutants in the earth’s atmosphere cause Global Warming which leads to climate change. Black holes have started to form in the ozone layer that protects the earth from harmful ultraviolet rays.

Human activities have created climate change and global warming. Industrial waste and fumes are the major contributors to global warming.

Another factor affecting is the burning of fossil fuels, deforestation and also one of the reasons for climate change. Global warming has resulted in shrinking mountain glaciers in Antarctica, Greenland, and the Arctic and causing climate change. Switching from the use of fossil fuels to energy sources like wind and solar.

When buying any electronic appliance buy the best quality with energy savings stars. Don’t waste water and encourage rainwater harvesting in your community.

Tips to Write an Essay

Writing an effective essay needs skills that few people possess and even fewer know how to implement. While writing an essay can be an assiduous task that can be unnerving at times, some key pointers can be inculcated to draft a successful essay. These involve focusing on the structure of the essay, planning it out well, and emphasizing crucial details.

Mentioned below are some pointers that can help you write better structure and more thoughtful essays that will get across to your readers:

Prepare an outline for the essay to ensure continuity and relevance and no break in the structure of the essay
Decide on a thesis statement that will form the basis of your essay. It will be the point of your essay and help readers understand your contention
Follow the structure of an introduction, a detailed body followed by a conclusion so that the readers can comprehend the essay in a particular manner without any dissonance.
Make your beginning catchy and include solutions in your conclusion to make the essay insightful and lucrative to read
Reread before putting it out and add your flair to the essay to make it more personal and thereby unique and intriguing for readers

Also Read: I Love My India Essay: 100 and 500+ Words in English for School Students

Ans. Both natural and man-made factors contribute to global warming. The natural one also contains methane gas, volcanic eruptions, and greenhouse gases. Deforestation, mining, livestock raising, burning fossil fuels, and other man-made causes are next.

Ans. The government and the general public can work together to stop global warming. Trees must be planted more often, and deforestation must be prohibited. Auto usage needs to be curbed, and recycling needs to be promoted.

Ans. Switching to renewable energy sources , adopting sustainable farming, transportation, and energy methods, and conserving water and other natural resources.

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Digvijay Singh

Having 2+ years of experience in educational content writing, withholding a Bachelor's in Physical Education and Sports Science and a strong interest in writing educational content for students enrolled in domestic and foreign study abroad programmes. I believe in offering a distinct viewpoint to the table, to help students deal with the complexities of both domestic and foreign educational systems. Through engaging storytelling and insightful analysis, I aim to inspire my readers to embark on their educational journeys, whether abroad or at home, and to make the most of every learning opportunity that comes their way.

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ENCYCLOPEDIC ENTRY

Global warming.

The causes, effects, and complexities of global warming are important to understand so that we can fight for the health of our planet.

Earth Science, Climatology

Tennessee Power Plant

Ash spews from a coal-fueled power plant in New Johnsonville, Tennessee, United States.

Photograph by Emory Kristof/ National Geographic

Global warming is the long-term warming of the planet’s overall temperature. Though this warming trend has been going on for a long time, its pace has significantly increased in the last hundred years due to the burning of fossil fuels . As the human population has increased, so has the volume of fossil fuels burned. Fossil fuels include coal, oil, and natural gas, and burning them causes what is known as the “greenhouse effect” in Earth’s atmosphere.

The greenhouse effect is when the sun’s rays penetrate the atmosphere, but when that heat is reflected off the surface cannot escape back into space. Gases produced by the burning of fossil fuels prevent the heat from leaving the atmosphere. These greenhouse gasses are carbon dioxide , chlorofluorocarbons, water vapor , methane , and nitrous oxide . The excess heat in the atmosphere has caused the average global temperature to rise overtime, otherwise known as global warming.

Global warming has presented another issue called climate change. Sometimes these phrases are used interchangeably, however, they are different. Climate change refers to changes in weather patterns and growing seasons around the world. It also refers to sea level rise caused by the expansion of warmer seas and melting ice sheets and glaciers . Global warming causes climate change, which poses a serious threat to life on Earth in the forms of widespread flooding and extreme weather. Scientists continue to study global warming and its impact on Earth.

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Related Resources

Research by the Political Psychology Research Group at Stanford University

Introduction Fundamentals Who Should Take Action Government Policy Economic Side Effects Willingness to Pay Priority Consequences of Global Warming Preparing for Possible Consequences Consumer Choices Attitude Strength Voter Behavior Opinions in the States Trust in Scientists Scientists' Beliefs Partisan Views Publications

Introduction

What do Americans think about global warming? Do people believe that the Earth has been warming? Do people believe that human activity has contributed to warming? Do people believe that warming constitutes a threat? Do people want government to do anything about the issue? Do people attach any priority to the issue? Do people’s opinions on the issue influence their voting behavior? Are people willing to pay money to reduce future emissions?

Since 1995, Stanford’s Political Psychology Research Group ( PPRG ) has been exploring these issues through a series of high-quality national surveys of random samples of American adults.

Co-led by Jon Krosnick (a Stanford professor with expertise in public opinion, political psychology, and survey methodology) and economist Bo MacInnis, the PPRG team has partnered with many major news organizations in conducting the surveys and releasing their findings.

This website describes those findings, beginning with this page, which offers a general overview of the research effort.

The Issue of Global Warming

During the 19th century, natural scientists observed what was ultimately called the “greenhouse effect”, and in 1965, President Lyndon Johnson’s Science Advisory Committee predicted that by the year 2000, rising carbon dioxide levels would “almost certainly cause significant changes” in temperature and stratosphere properties. In 1988, the issue burst onto the front pages of newspapers when James Hansen, head of NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies, told Congress that the greenhouse effect was, in fact, warming the Earth ( 1 , 2 ).

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), created that year by the United Nations and the World Meteorological Association, has issued increasingly strong statements about global warming over the years. In 2014, the IPCC said that the “warming of the climate system is unequivocal” and anthropogenic. And scientific academies in various nations have urged “prompt action” by governments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions ( 3 , 4 ).

Governments and non-governmental organizations have devoted effort to design and implement adaptation strategies to protect people and infrastructure from possible effects of rising temperatures ( 5-7 ). And in 2015, Roman Catholic Pope Francis argued that the warming of the Earth is harming the globe’s neediest citizens and called for government policies to reduce fossil fuel use ( 8 ). And U.S. military and national security officials have cited global warming as a national security threat for the United States and the world and have been taking steps to prepare for increased temperatures ( 17-18 ).

At the same time, skepticism about these issues has been regularly expressed by individuals and organizations in many quarters. U.S. Congress members, presidential candidates, think tanks, and others have suggested that warming may not be happening, or may be natural rather than human-caused, and that taking action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions would be counterproductive ( 9-16 ). For example, the Cato Institute has challenged the claim that the effects of warming will be catastrophic ( 14 ). Likewise, the Heartland Institute has disputed the claim of consensus among natural scientists on global warming ( 15 ).

Thus, global warming has been the subject of public debate and controversy for decades.

Informing the Discussion with Surveys

This website is intended to inform this debate by illuminating American public opinion on the issue.

PPRG’s research is inspired partly by theories of democracy that propose that a government’s effectiveness depends partly on its leaders’ having an accurate understanding of what the populace wants them to do. Elected officials frequently receive information from lobbying groups, direct communications from constituents (through phone calls, emails, and letters), protests and demonstrations, and meetings and hearings held in their districts.

But these forms of communication may convey the opinions of only small and select parts of the population. If done well, scientific surveys have the potential to provide governments with insight into the entire population’s views and can give voice to people who don’t otherwise share their views with government. Survey research is therefore a potentially valuable tool for helping government officials understand the general public’s opinions and wishes.

Summary of Findings

During the last 50 years of serious survey research, the American public has been about equally divided on many important and controversial issues of public policy. But global warming is unusual – Twenty years of surveys show that strikingly large majorities of Americans have agreed about whether global warming has been happening, whether it is a threat, whether it merits government attention, what policy approaches are appealing, and what policy approaches should be avoided.

The web pages reporting these findings address the following topics and others as well:

Fundamentals Has the Earth been warming? Has warming been caused by humans? Is global warming a threat?

Should Action Be Taken Should the federal government take action? Should other governments of other nations take action? Should the U.S. Government act on global warming even if other countries do not? Should U.S. businesses take action? Should individual citizens take action?

Government Policy How should government address global warming, if at all? How much effort should government devote to the issue? What policies should government implement to reduce greenhouse gas emissions?

Economic Side Effects Will emissions reduction efforts hurt the nation’s economy?

Willingness to Pay Are Americans willing to pay money in the forms of higher prices or higher taxes to reduce emissions?

Priority How much of a priority is the issue of global warming for Americans?

Consequences of Global Warming What might the consequences of global warming be?

Preparing For Possible Consequences Should government prepare now to deal with the potential consequences of global warming? What preparation measures should be implemented? Who should pay to prepare for such consequences?

Attitude Strength To what degree are Americans thoughtfully engaged in the issue of global warming? How much personal importance do people attach to the issue?

Voter Behavior Do Americans vote based on the issue of global warming?

Opinions in the States Do opinions vary significantly from state to state in the U.S.?

Trust in Scientists Do Americans trust what natural scientists say about this issue?

Natural Scientists’ Beliefs To what extent do Americans perceive consensus among natural scientists studying warming?

Partisan Views To what extent do partisans in America – Democrats, Republicans, and Independents view the issue of global warming?

Professor Krosnick summarizes many research findings in this video:

Acknowledgments

The findings presented on this website are based on studies conducted with numerous collaborating organizations and funded by a variety of organizations.

An important collaborator over the years has been the nonpartisan think tank Resources for the Future . Since the beginning of PPRG’s work in this area, RFF has provided insights into the policy-making process and into natural science findings on the issue. Ray Kopp at Resources for the Future has been a valuable advisor and collaborator. And RFF has provided funding to support the work.

Many of the surveys have been carried out in collaboration with some of the nation’s most respected news organizations, including The New York Times, ABC News , Time magazine, The Washington Post , The Associated Press, U.S.A. Today, Reuters , and New Scientist magazine. These organizations have provided funding to support the work.

Other funding has come from agencies of the federal government (the National Science Foundation, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration), private foundations (MassINC Polling Group and the Electric Power Research Institute), and academic institutions (Stanford’s Woods Institute for the Environment, the Stanford Precourt Institute for Energy, and The Ohio State University).

Data were collected by a variety of research firms: SSRS, Abt/SRBI, ReconMR, Ipsos Public Affairs, GfK Custom Research, TNS, and The Ohio State University’s Center for Survey Research.

The group’s findings have been disseminated via peer-reviewed journal articles and book chapters, news articles, press conferences, and lectures around the world.

This website is the vision of Adina Abeles, who devoted tremendous effort in collaboration with Bo MacInnis to create it, with assistance from Rita Beamish.

Additional Links

Methodologies of the Surveys Reported on this Site
Research Reports
Videos of Lectures by Jon Krosnick on This Research
News Stories about This Research
Weart, S . (2003). The discovery of global warming . Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press.
Borenstein, S . (2015, November 4). Upcoming climate talks just the latest chapter in a long history. Associated Press the Big Story. Retrieved on November 23, 2015.
Joint Science Academies’. (2005, June 07). Joint science academies’ statement: Global response to climate change. The National Academies. Retrieved on November 23, 2015.
The National Academies. (2010, May 19). Strong Evidence on Climate Change Underscores needs for Actions to Reduce Emissions and Begin Adapting to Impacts. News from the National Academies. Retrieved on November 23, 2015.
Beamish, R. (2014, December 23). States, Cities Brace for Global Warming Fallout. The Pew Charitable Trusts Stateline. Retrieved on November 23, 2015.
Corporation for National and Community Service. Public – Private Partnership Launches New AmeriCorps Program to Help Communities Build Resilience [press release]. (2015, July 9). Retrieved on November 23, 2015.
Council on Environmental Equality. (n.d.). State, Local, and Tribal Leaders Task Force On Climate Preparedness and Resilience. The White House . Retrieved on November 23, 2015.
Francis, P. (2015). Laudato Si: On Care for our Common Home. Huntington, Indiana: Our Sunday Visitor.
Lindzen, R. (2010, April 22). Climate Science In Denial. The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved on November 23, 2015.
Gillis, J. (2012, April 30). Clouds’ Effect on Climate Change Is Last Bastion for Dissenters. The New York Times. Retrieved on November 23, 2015.
EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy Testimony on Proposed Regulations. (2015, July 9). Retrieved on November 23, 2015.
Idso, C., Carter, R., & Singer, F. (n.d.). Climate Change Reconsidered II. The Heartland Institute . Retrieved on Novemebr 23, 2015.
Achenbach, J. (2006, May 28). The Tempest. The Washington Post. Retrieved on November 23, 2015.
Jacobson , L. (2012, May 15). On Mitt Romney and whether humans are causing climate change. Politifact. Retrieved on November 23, 2015.
Bast, J., & Smith, T. (2014, May 14). Research & Commentary: The Myth of a Global Warming Consensus. The Heartland Institute. Retrieved on November 23, 2015.
Gillis, J. (2015, June 26). Smithsonian Will Tighten Its Guidelines on Disclosure. The New York Times. Retrieved on November 23, 2015.
Davenport, C., Haner, J., Buchanan, L., & Watkins, D. (2015, October 26). Greenland Is Melting Away. The New York Times. Retrieved on November 23, 2015.
Scarborough , R. (2015, July 29). Climate change ‘urgent and growing threat’ to national security: Pentagon. Washington Times. Retrieved on November 23, 2015.

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What scares you most about climate change?

Harvard Staff Writer

Experts tease out the scientific, legal, economic, political, and philosophical costs and benefits of the problem — and the solutions

To mark Earth Day’s 50th anniversary, amid the coronavirus pandemic, the Gazette contacted experts on climate change, the environment, and sustainability to ask them about their global-warming fears. Here are their answers.

Thomas P. Gloria

Program Director, Sustainability, Harvard Extension School

This question presupposes that I am scared about climate change. How dare you ask such a question to a career sustainability professional? Being scared is being afraid, terrified, and at worst, emotional to the point of being catatonic. I demand, no, I respectfully deserve a better question, a positive, uplifting question, especially on the 50th anniversary of Earth Day …

I am scared, deeply. We are in a climate crisis.

My Rachel Carson moment of being present to the enormity of the challenges that come with global climate disruption happened when I was a doctoral student at Tufts just starting my background literature search. It was 1994, and Nature just published a journal article by [James E.] Lovelock and [Lee R.] Kump (1994). When disruption occurs, it comes with accelerating forces due to failures of climate regulation, unleashing reinforcing feedbacks that further amplify increases in global temperatures.

My fear is, despite the science and the early warning signals that we bear witness to — record temperatures, 1,000-year storms, glacial retreat, coral reefs dying on a continental scale — global society may finally wake up, but it may be too late. Our current global political economy solves problems through business as usual growth, wasting precious time to effectively reduce emissions to prevent human suffering and ecological system collapse at an unimaginable scale.

I may not live long enough to experience the severe effects of climate change. However, when I look around the Harvard community, a truly global community, I see a growing younger generation of people who will experience severe impacts. They get it. They don’t need to be told (again) how bad it’s going to get. They know.

So I respectfully pivot to the question posed and answer this question: “What about climate change brings me hope?”

Sustainable development is most frequently defined as “development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” This tried and true quote from the Report of the World Commission on Environment and Development: Our Common Future, a.k.a. the Brundtland Report of 1987, is truncated. In Section 3, subparagraph 27, the definition begins with “Humanity has the ability to make development …”

Humanity, the human collective, has the ability to take control of the physical world it disrupts with an alacrity just like the natural world’s reinforcing feedbacks loops, but in a good way. With courage, leadership, and a moral compass to make the world a better place, together, the Harvard community has the ability to make a difference on a global scale that will inspire others to also make a positive difference. And this gives me hope.

Aaron Bernstein

Interim Director of the Center for Climate, Health, and the Global Environment at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health (Harvard C-CHANGE)

Climate change doesn’t scare me, and it need not scare anyone. To combat fear that grows from inaction and inadequate leadership, we must remind ourselves time and again that we have solutions to the climate crisis and that these solutions improve health today, especially for the poor and vulnerable, and that they provide for a more just and livable world for our children.

While much, much more needs to be done to put us on the right path to avert the worst effects of climate change, the growth of renewable energy around the world, the rise of electric vehicles, and the growing appreciation for plant-based diets all give reason for hope over fear.

When it comes to climate actions, it’s all too easy to believe that what we do as individuals doesn’t matter. How could one person’s deeds make even a tiny dent in the scope of global greenhouse gas emissions? For anyone who doubts our individual actions matter, look no further than what is happening in communities across this country right now. By keeping our distance from others, we have saved tens of thousands of lives, especially among the poor, older people, and those whose health is compromised. With COVID-19, of course, we have been asked (and in some cases commanded) to change our ways by our leaders. But a prevailing sense of responsibility to and pressure from our families and communities has led to more people doing what’s needed.

Our individual climate actions can have the same effect. As individuals act, we can create a path that many more will walk on. The good news about climate actions is that as they make the planet healthier, they also make us healthier, helping to solve problems like obesity and mental health disorders, which have exacted a huge toll on so many people.

Fifty years ago, a small group of people organized many more to protect the world we live on. Their motivation came from a recognition that a polluted world was unviable not just for all the other life forms we share the planet with, but for ourselves. Their example and motivation matter today more than ever. We must act to protect the earth, its climate, and all the life we share it with because our lives, and the lives of generations to come, depend on it.

John P. Holdren

Teresa and John Heinz Professor of Environmental Policy at the Kennedy School of Government; professor of environmental science and policy, Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences; affiliated professor, Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences

The disruption of Earth’s climate by human activities scares me for many reasons. Here are three. First, climate is the envelope within which all other environmental conditions and processes important to human well-being must function. Those conditions and processes include those that govern the quality of air, the quality and quantity of fresh water, the fertility of soil, the productivity of the ocean, and natural controls on pests and pathogens. As our activities increasingly alter the climate — with direct impacts including hotter heat waves, stronger storms, bigger floods, larger wildfires, and inexorably rising sea level — we imperil all the essential environmental conditions and processes that function within the climatic envelope.

Second, the human activities driving the disruption of global climate are so deeply embedded in the economies of developed and developing countries alike that it is impossible to change the drivers rapidly. The biggest driver is the combustion of coal, oil, and natural gas — the fossil fuels — using technologies that discharge all of the resulting carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. In 2020, about 80 percent of the energy used by civilization worldwide still comes from these fossil fuels. It will take decades to free ourselves from them. The next biggest driver is land use and land-use change, including deforestation and many agricultural practices. These, too, in turn, are on such a large scale and driven by such fundamental forces in the world’s economies that they are very difficult to change quickly.

Third, impacts of global climate change are already causing serious damage to human health and safety, property, infrastructure, and terrestrial and marine ecosystems, even though the increase in the annually and globally averaged surface temperature has been “only” about 2 degrees Fahrenheit. At this point, because of the intractable nature of the drivers described above, it seems almost impossible to avoid an increase twice as large, which will result in a much more than proportional increase in the damages now being experienced.

The only good news is that public awareness of the ongoing harm and increasing danger is growing to the point that countries may finally undertake the remedial actions needed to avoid even bigger changes in our future climate, along with adaptation measures that can reduce the harm from the changes we cannot avoid.

Tyler Giannini

Clinical professor of law, co-director of the International Human Rights Clinic at Harvard Law School, and founder of EarthRights International, an NGO that works to protect human rights and the environment

Giannini wrote his essay with his daughters Amaya Giannini (14 years old) and Rayna Giannini (10).

This is an intergenerational question, so the three of us sat around our dining room table and each made individual lists of how climate change scared us. Together, we represent one Generation Xer (aged 49) and two Generation Zs (aged 14 and 10) — also known as Zoomers. While our generations think differently on a lot of issues, what stood out most is that we have similar fears about climate change. We worry about the loss of ecosystems and about biodiversity. We worry about the future of humanity and our families, and we worry about how the world will react to the impending crisis. Will we come together or lose our empathy for one another? As the three of us started talking about our fears, though, we kept coming back to solutions — to listen to science, of course, but just as importantly to come together because tackling climate change requires seeing the connections between us rather than what divides us.

On all our lists, we hit on how we were scared of losing animals and hurting the planet itself. Climate change affects our ecosystems, and this will impact the lives of many animals. Some may even become extinct. But we also thought about how we are connected to our environment: Animals are a big part of our food chain, for example, and bees are critical pollinators, and if we lose them, it will affect our food supplies.

The theme of connection also played out as we talked about how climate change will deeply affect humanity. We fear for the unprecedented millions who will be displaced — the impending flow of climate refugees. We worry about our families, our kids, but we talked about how every displaced person is connected to a family. And we also know that it is much more likely that these families will be disproportionately poor and people of color, especially in the Global South.

We also worry about the emotional toll that climate change will take as we absorb a constant barrage of bad news — and how people will react once the impacts become even more serious than they already are. You can see how in the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, many thought it was far away and would not reach them. But there was a tipping point, and then it started to directly affect so many more people. This is where we are headed with climate change. Once we start treating climate change like the crisis it is, we hope many people will launch into action.

As we stay at home these days, we keep returning to parallels between climate change and the current pandemic. The curves look eerily similar. And there is a lingering question of whether we will hit the steep part of the curve or flatten the curve. For climate change, we fear hitting the tipping point and want to get ahead of it while we have time. In the end though, the three of us are most scared about what it will take to find solutions. It will take government action, individual action, and community action. Like the pandemic, we know it will take scientific knowledge and empathy and hope. We see the pandemic pulling us in two directions — increasing isolation and fears, but also creating innumerable acts of coming together and working to overcome the challenges. Solving the problem of climate change will not be successful if we allow our fears to overcome us. Solving the problem will require the strength, commitment, and creativity of our global community.

Robert N. Stavins

A.J. Meyer Professor of Energy and Economic Development, Harvard Kennedy School of Government

What concerns me most about climate change is the combination of a pair of its characteristics — one spatial and one temporal — that together make this an exceptionally difficult political challenge. Each of these characteristics takes us from the science of climate change to its economic realities and then to its very difficult politics.

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First, greenhouse gases mix in the atmosphere, so the location of emissions has no effect on impacts — in economic terms, climate change is a global commons problem. It does not matter whether a ton of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions emanate from Cambridge, Mass., or Cairo, Egypt. They have the same impacts, and those impacts are spread globally.

However, any jurisdiction taking action incurs the costs of its actions (typically the costs of moving from reliance on fossil fuels to greater use of renewable energy resources, as well as increased energy efficiency), but the climate benefits of its actions are distributed globally. Thus, for virtually any jurisdiction, the climate benefits it reaps from its actions will be less than the costs it incurs (despite the fact that the global benefits may be greater — possibly much greater — than the global costs). This presents a classic free-rider problem, wherein it is in the interests of each country to do little and instead seek to rely on the actions of other countries. And this is why it cannot be left to individual countries to develop policies completely independently. Rather, international, if not global, cooperation is essential.

There is also a temporal dimension that takes us from science to economics to politics and policy. Greenhouse gases (GHGs) accumulate in the atmosphere (CO2 has a half-life in the atmosphere exceeding 100 years), and the damages are a function of the stock, not the flow of GHGs. Hence, the most severe consequences of climate change will be in the long term. But climate-change policies and the attendant costs of mitigation will be up front. This combination of up-front costs and delayed benefits presents a tremendous political challenge, since political incentives in democracies are typically for elected officials to convey benefits to current voters today, and place costs on future generations. The climate problem asks politicians to do precisely the opposite!

Together, the global commons nature of the problem plus this intertemporal asymmetry make climate change an exceptionally tough political challenge (and suggest why economics can help with the design of better public policies).

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Essay on Global Warming – Causes and Solutions

500+ words essay on global warming.

Global Warming is a term almost everyone is familiar with. But, its meaning is still not clear to most of us. So, Global warming refers to the gradual rise in the overall temperature of the atmosphere of the Earth. There are various activities taking place which have been increasing the temperature gradually. Global warming is melting our ice glaciers rapidly. This is extremely harmful to the earth as well as humans. It is quite challenging to control global warming; however, it is not unmanageable. The first step in solving any problem is identifying the cause of the problem. Therefore, we need to first understand the causes of global warming that will help us proceed further in solving it. In this essay on Global Warming, we will see the causes and solutions of Global Warming.

Causes of Global Warming

Global warming has become a grave problem which needs undivided attention. It is not happening because of a single cause but several causes. These causes are both natural as well as manmade. The natural causes include the release of greenhouses gases which are not able to escape from earth, causing the temperature to increase.

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Further, volcanic eruptions are also responsible for global warming. That is to say, these eruptions release tons of carbon dioxide which contributes to global warming. Similarly, methane is also one big issue responsible for global warming.

So, when one of the biggest sources of absorption of carbon dioxide will only disappear, there will be nothing left to regulate the gas. Thus, it will result in global warming. Steps must be taken immediately to stop global warming and make the earth better again.

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Global Warming Solutions

As stated earlier, it might be challenging but it is not entirely impossible. Global warming can be stopped when combined efforts are put in. For that, individuals and governments, both have to take steps towards achieving it. We must begin with the reduction of greenhouse gas.

Furthermore, they need to monitor the consumption of gasoline. Switch to a hybrid car and reduce the release of carbon dioxide. Moreover, citizens can choose public transport or carpool together. Subsequently, recycling must also be encouraged.

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For instance, when you go shopping, carry your own cloth bag. Another step you can take is to limit the use of electricity which will prevent the release of carbon dioxide. On the government’s part, they must regulate industrial waste and ban them from emitting harmful gases in the air. Deforestation must be stopped immediately and planting of trees must be encouraged.

In short, all of us must realize the fact that our earth is not well. It needs to treatment and we can help it heal. The present generation must take up the responsibility of stopping global warming in order to prevent the suffering of future generations. Therefore, every little step, no matter how small carries a lot of weight and is quite significant in stopping global warming.

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FAQs on Global Warming

Q.1 List the causes of Global Warming.

A.1 There are various causes of global warming both natural and manmade. The natural one includes a greenhouse gas, volcanic eruption, methane gas and more. Next up, manmade causes are deforestation, mining, cattle rearing, fossil fuel burning and more.

Q.2 How can one stop Global Warming?

A.2 Global warming can be stopped by a joint effort by the individuals and the government. Deforestation must be banned and trees should be planted more. The use of automobiles must be limited and recycling must be encouraged.

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Climate Explained: Introductory Essays About Climate Change Topics

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Climate Explained, a part of Yale Climate Connections, is an essay collection that addresses an array of climate change questions and topics, including why it’s cold outside if global warming is real, how we know that humans are responsible for global warming, and the relationship between climate change and national security.

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Climate Change Basics: Five Facts, Ten Words

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To simplify the scientific complexity of climate change, we focus on communicating five key facts about climate change that everyone should know.

Why should we care about climate change?

Having different perspectives about global warming is natural, but the most important thing that anyone should know about climate change is why it matters.

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Chapter 2: Climate Change and Energy Issues

Public opinion about climate and energy issues is strongly divided along political party and ideological lines. This chapter reviews those patterns underlying beliefs about climate change, perceived consensus among scientists about climate change, and views about one policy prescription aimed at reducing climate change. Liberal Democrats are especially inclined to hold the view that the Earth is warming due to human activity, they are more likely to see consensus among scientists about this issue and are more in favor of setting stricter plant emission limits in order to address climate change. These patterns are consistent with Pew Research Center’s and others’ past public surveys, which show a widening gap between political groups in views about climate issues over time. 17

Also consistent with past surveys, there are strong party and ideological fissures in public views related to energy issues with conservative Republicans especially likely to support more offshore drilling for oil and gas in U.S. waters, to support increased use of hydraulic fracturing to extract oil and gas from underground, and to support building more nuclear power plants to generate electricity. Other factors that predict views on these issues include gender and age: Men and older adults express more support of these energy technologies, on average, than do women or younger adults, respectively. There is one exception; a majority of all major demographic and political groups support the increased use of genetically engineered plants as a fuel alternative to gasoline.

Beliefs about the likely effect of global population growth as it relates to natural resources also are divided along political lines. Here, too, liberal Democrats tend to see the growing world population as a likely strain on food supply and natural resources, while conservative Republicans are more inclined to believe that new ways to stretch our resources will keep the growing world population from being a major problem.

Climate Change Opinions

The survey included two separate measures to gauge public attitudes about climate change. When asked to pick among three choices, 50% of adults say that climate change is occurring mostly because of human activity, such as burning fossil fuels; 23% say that climate change is mostly because of natural patterns in the Earth’s environment; and another 25% say there is no solid evidence the Earth is getting warmer. The share of the public saying climate change is due to human activity is about the same as it was in 2009 when Pew Research Center last asked this question, but more now say there is no solid evidence of warming (25% today, up from 11% in 2009) and fewer say that warming is occurring due to natural patterns in the environment (23% today, down from 36% in 2009).

In a separate series of questions, adults in the general public were asked, first, whether or not there is solid evidence that the average temperature of the Earth has been getting warmer over the past few decades. Fully 72% of adults say there is solid evidence of warming, while a quarter (25%) say there is no solid evidence of this.

Follow-up questions find that most of those who believe the Earth is warming think warming is due to human activity (46% of all adults), rather than natural patterns in the Earth’s environment (22% of all adults). Those who say there is no solid evidence the Earth is getting warmer are split between those who say the evidence is not yet clear (11% of all adults) and that warming is not occurring (13% of all adults). 18

We show differences among subgroups using just one measure of views about climate change below. These patterns are roughly the same regardless of which measures are used. 19 We combine responses from either approach in the multivariate analysis of factors influencing opinion about climate change.

Gender, Age, Race and Ethnicity

Consistent with past surveys , there are wide differences by age in views about climate change, with adults ages 65 and older more skeptical than younger age groups that there is solid evidence the Earth is warming.

Hispanics are more inclined than non-Hispanic whites to say the Earth is warming due to human activity. 20

Men and women hold similar views about climate change on this question. However, when a randomly selected half of the sample was asked first whether there is solid evidence the Earth is warming, women were more likely than men to say this was the case (79% compared with 63%). This gender difference is consistent with past Pew Research Center surveys.

Education and Knowledge

Views About Climate Change, by Education and Science Knowledge

Those with a college degree are more likely than those with less education to say that climate change is occurring due to human activity. Among all those with a college degree 56% say that warming is due to human activity. By comparison, 44% of those with a high school degree or less schooling say the same.

Views about climate change are roughly the same regardless of level of science knowledge. There are no differences in views between those with a degree in a scientific field and those with training in other fields.

Party and Ideology

Views about climate change differ substantially among party and political ideological groups, as also was the case in past surveys. The size of the differences between partisans on climate change has grown since 2006, when Pew Research first began tracking public opinion on this topic.

Fully 71% of Democrats and independents who lean Democratic say the Earth is warming primarily due to human activity. By contrast, only 27% of Republicans and those who lean Republican hold this view; 30% say climate change is mostly due to natural patterns in the Earth’s environment and 41% say there is no solid evidence the Earth is warming. 21

Fully 76% of liberals say the Earth is warming due to human activity. By contrast, 29% of conservatives say the human activity is the reason for climate change; three-in-ten say that natural processes account for climate change and 39% say there is no solid evidence the Earth is warming. Moderates’ views on climate change fall somewhere in between these two groups.

A 57% majority of conservative Republicans says there is no solid evidence the Earth is warming; just one-in-ten says that human activity accounts for climate change. By contrast, 78% of liberal Democrats say that human activity accounts for climate change.

Past Pew Research surveys also have shown more skepticism among Tea Party Republicans that the Earth is warming. Among Democrats, there are substantial differences by education, with those holding a college degree more likely than those with less schooling to say the Earth is warming due to human activity. 22

Multivariate Analyses

To better understand the relative influence of these factors on views about climate change we conducted a series of multivariate regression analyses. In order to maximize the sample size available for this analysis, responses from the two ways of measuring climate change were combined. Those who were unsure whether climate change is occurring or the processes that account for climate change were omitted from this analysis. We tested a series of models including the one shown here, which includes belief about scientific consensus on climate change as an explanatory factor in respondent’s beliefs about climate change. (For more on perceptions of scientific consensus and other judgments related to climate change, see below.) 23

We turn, first, to predicting the view that climate change is occurring (whether due to human or natural processes) as compared with the view that there is no solid evidence of warming. 24 A person who says that scientists generally agree that human activity is causing global warming has a predicted probability of saying that the Earth is warming of 0.87 on a scale of 0 to 1, or 87%. A person who says that scientists generally do not agree about this has a predicted probability of saying that the Earth is warming of 0.70 (70%) − a difference of 0.17 (or 17 percentage points). Women (+0.08) are more likely than men and Hispanics (+0.10) are more likely than non-Hispanic whites to say the Earth is warming.

Political party and ideology are also strong predictors. Republicans and those who lean Republican are 20 percentage points less likely than Democrats and those who lean Democratic to say the Earth is warming. Those with no party affiliation or lean are less likely (-0.14) than are Democrats (including independents who lean to the Democratic Party) to say the Earth is warming. Ideology also has an independent effect on views with conservatives less likely than liberals (-0.16) to say the Earth is warming. Individuals who describe their ideology as liberal and identify as Democrat or leaning Democratic have a predicted probability of 0.76, while those who are conservative and Republican or leaning Republican have a predicted probability of 0.22 of saying the Earth is warming due to human activity, holding all other factors at their means.

Factors Associated With Views About Climate Change

Next, we show the results of a logistic regression predicting the view that the Earth is warming due to human activity (as compared with saying either that natural patterns cause warming or that there is no evidence of warming). As with the above, views about scientific consensus on climate change, political party and ideology strongly predict the view that climate change is due to human activity.

A person who says scientists generally agree that human activity is causing global warming has a predicted probability of saying that the Earth is warming due to human activity of 0.65 on a scale of 0 to 1, or 65%. A person who says that scientists generally do not agree about this has a predicted probability of saying that the Earth is warming of 0.30 (30%) − a difference of 0.35 (or 35 percentage points).

In addition, being Hispanic and two additional factors – age and education – are significant predictors of this viewpoint. Younger adults are more likely than older adults to say that warming is due to human activity, which is a 21 percentage point change in predicted probability from the youngest to oldest. And those with a postgraduate degree are more likely (+0.13) than those with a high school diploma or less education to say the same, when other factors are held constant.

Separate models, not shown, found no significant effect of church attendance on views either predicting that the Earth is warming or predicting that the Earth’s warming is due to human activity, once other factors are controlled. Similarly, the major religious affiliation groups did not differ from the religiously unaffiliated in views about climate change. (Details are available upon request.) 25

Perceptions of Scientific Consensus and Divide About Climate Change

A majority of Americans (57%) say they believe that scientists generally agree that the Earth is warming because of human activity, while 37% say that scientists generally do not agree. Perceptions of where the scientific community stands on climate change have fluctuated from a low in 2010, when 44% said scientists agree about human activity as the main cause of warming temperatures, to a high of 57% saying this today. 26

Do Scientists Generally Agree About Climate Change?

These perceptions tend to be associated with individual views on the issue. For example, those who believe the Earth is getting warmer due to human activity are most inclined to see scientists as in agreement on this point. Those who say either that climate change is occurring due to natural patterns in the Earth’s environment or who do not believe there is solid evidence of climate change are more inclined to see scientists as divided.

As with perceptions of scientific consensus on other topics, public perceptions that scientists tend to agree about climate change tend to vary by age. Younger generations (ages 18 to 49) are more likely than older ones to see scientists in agreement about climate change. Hispanics are more likely than are non-Hispanic whites to say that scientists agree the Earth is warming due to human activity. There are no differences between men and women on perceptions of scientific consensus about this issue.

College graduates are more likely than those with less formal education to say that scientists generally agree the Earth is getting warmer due to human activity: 63% of college graduates say this, compared with 56% of those with some college and 55% of those with a high school degree or less. Those with a degree in a scientific field are about equally as likely as those with a degree in other fields to say that scientists generally agree that human activity accounts for climate change. Those with more science knowledge, generally, are a bit more likely to see scientists as agreeing about climate change compared with those who have less science knowledge (61% vs. 54%).

As with beliefs about climate change, there are large differences by party and ideology when it comes to perceptions of scientific consensus about climate change. Seven-in-ten (70%) Democrats and those who lean Democratic see scientists as generally agreeing that climate change is due to human activity. Those who identify or lean to the Republican Party, by contrast, are closely divided, with 45% saying that scientists generally agree and 49% saying scientists do not agree about this.

Conservatives are less likely than either moderates or liberals to say there is scientific consensus about this issue. A 59% majority of conservative Republicans say scientists do not agree that human activity accounts for climate change. By contrast, fully 83% of liberal Democrats say scientists generally agree about this issue.

Factors Associated With Belief That There Is Scientific Consensus About Climate Change

A multivariate logistic analysis finds that older adults, political conservatives, moderates and Republicans (including leaners) are less likely to say that scientists agree the Earth is warming due to human activity. For example, the youngest adults (age 18) have a predicted probability of 0.72 (72%) of saying that scientists generally agree the Earth is warming due to human activity, while the oldest adults in the sample have a predicted probability of 0.51 of saying this – a difference that rounds to 22 percentage points. The relative influence of being a conservative (as compared with a liberal) is roughly the same (+0.22) as is the effect of being a Republican/leaning Republican as compared with being a Democrat/leaning Democrat (+0.19). Liberal Democrats are predicted to be 39 percentage points more likely to say that there is a scientific consensus on climate change than conservative Republicans, holding all other factors at their means.

Perceived Seriousness of Climate Change

Views of Climate Change As a Serious Problem

Recent Pew Research surveys have also queried the public about opinions related to the seriousness of climate change. In a 2015 Pew Research survey, 46% of adults said that “global warming” was a very serious problem, up from 33% in a 2013 survey. The share saying that global warming is a very serious problem has fluctuated over time; as of June 2015, it is on a par with the share who expressed this view in 2007 and 2008. 27

Does Global Climate Change Pose a Threat to the U.S.?

The Pew Global Attitudes survey conducted in 2013 with representative samples of adults in 39 countries, including the U.S., asked a series of questions of possible threats from international issues, including one question on global climate change. That survey found 40% of adults in the U.S. said global climate change is a major threat to the country, 37% said it was a minor threat, while a fifth (20%) said it was not a threat.

Concern about global climate change in the U.S. was lower than the median for the 39 nations surveyed. Concern about global climate change in the U.S. is lower than in Canada, Europe, Asia, Latin America and Africa – concern in the U.S. about this issue was on par with concern about global climate change in the Middle Eastern countries surveyed. 28

Support for Measures to Address Climate Change

A separate Pew Research survey conducted in November of 2014 found broad public support for stricter limits on power plant emissions in order to mitigate climate change. A 64% majority of U.S. adults favor stricter limits on power plant emissions, while 31% oppose stricter emissions limits for power plants. Overall opinion about this issue has been roughly stable since Pew Research first asked about it in February 2013. 29

Support for Curbing Power Plant Emissions

Women are more inclined than men to support stricter emission standards (68% do so, compared with 60% among men). Younger adults favor setting stricter emissions standards than do older adults. There are no significant differences by race or ethnicity on this question.

Support for Curbing Power Plant Emissions, by Education, Party and Ideology

Those with a college degree express higher levels of support for stricter emissions limits than do those with less schooling.

This survey did not include measures of science knowledge or science education.

As also was the case in views about climate change, there are strong differences in views about emissions standards by party and ideology. Fully 78% of Democrats and leaning Democrats favor stricter standards. Half of Republicans and independents who lean to the GOP favor stricter standards, while 45% do not.

Tea Party Republicans (including independents who lean to the GOP) are particularly likely to oppose stricter power plant emissions limits (71% oppose, 26% favor).

Conservatives are closely split on this issue, with 45% in favor and 47% opposed. A majority of moderates (72%) and liberals (82%) favor more stringent power plant emission standards in order to address climate change.

Factors Associated With Views About Power Plant Emissions Limits

A multivariate logistic regression finds a number of factors predict views about emissions limits to address climate change. Republicans, including leaners (-0.24) and those with no party affiliation or leaning (-0.21) are less likely than their Democratic counterparts to favor stricter power plant emissions limits. Conservatives are less likely to favor stricter limits (-0.23), as compared with liberals. Liberal Democrats have a predicted probability of 0.87 and conservative Republicans have a predicted probability of 0.43 of favoring stricter emissions on power plants – a difference of 44 percentage points.

Views about this issue are also related to age, race and education. Older adults (-0.23), as compared with younger adults, and blacks (-0.18), as compared with whites, are less likely to favor stricter power plant emissions standards. Those with a postgraduate degree are more likely to favor stricter limits (+0.15). Gender has a more moderate effect. Women are, on average, 8 percentage points more likely to support stricter emission limits than are men, controlling for other factors.

Offshore Oil Drilling

Public opinion about energy issues varies depending on the technology considered. About half of Americans in the August 2014 survey (52%) favor allowing more offshore oil drilling in U.S. waters, while 44% are opposed.

Other Pew Research surveys asked opinions about the government allowing more offshore oil and gas drilling in connection with “government policies to address America’s energy supply.” 30 While this question is not directly comparable to that asked in the August 2014 Pew Research survey, the findings also show a majority of adults support more offshore oil drilling (56% favor, 40% oppose). Views on this question have fluctuated some over time, from a high in 2009 of 68% in favor of more offshore drilling, to a low in June 2010 of 44% in favor. Views about offshore oil drilling in this context have been steady in 2013 and 2014.

Opinion about allowing more offshore oil drilling differs by gender, race and ethnicity and age. Six-in-ten men favor allowing more offshore drilling, compared with 44% of women.

Younger adults, ages 18 to 29, stand out from other age groups for their higher levels of opposition to offshore oil drilling: 61% of adults under age 30 oppose drilling, while 37% favor more drilling. By contrast, six-in-ten adults ages 65 and older favor more drilling in U.S. waters for oil and gas; 35% are opposed.

Whites express more support for more offshore drilling than do either blacks or Hispanics. However, as noted below, differences among racial and ethnic groups about offshore oil drilling are largely explained by political differences among these groups.

There are no statistically significant differences in views about offshore oil drilling among education or science knowledge groups.

No Differences in Views About Offshore Oil Drilling by Education and Science Knowledge

Opinion about offshore oil and gas drilling differs strongly among party and ideological groups. Fully 72% of Republicans and leaning Republicans favor more offshore drilling, compared with 39% of Democrats and independents who lean Democratic.

Support for offshore drilling is especially low among political liberals, among whom 29% favor more offshore drilling, compared with 64% among conservatives and 57% among political moderates.

Opinion differences on allowing more offshore drilling are especially wide between conservative Republicans (87% favor and 13% oppose) and liberal Democrats (28% favor and 68% oppose).

Factors Associated With Views About Offshore Drilling

A multivariate logistic analysis predicting support for more offshore drilling finds age and gender to be significant predictors of support, with older adults more so than younger adults (+0.30) and men more so than women (+0.15) in favor of allowing more drilling. In addition, both party affiliation and ideology significantly predict views on this issue. Republicans and leaning Republicans (+0.26) are more likely to favor more drilling than are Democrats and leaning Democrats. Conservatives (+0.22) and moderates (+0.23) are more likely to favor more drilling relative to liberals, while controlling for other factors. Specifically, conservative Republicans have a predicted probability of 0.76 and liberal Democrats have a predicted probability of 0.30 of favoring more offshore drilling, controlling for other factors.

A separate model (not shown) finds some significant differences among religious groups, even when controlling for these political and demographic factors. However, the factors described here remain significant predictors of support for offshore drilling even when religious affiliation and frequency of church attendance are controlled. (Details are available upon request.)

Hydraulic Fracturing

Support for Increased Use of Fracking Down Since 2013

A minority of the public (41%) supports the increased use of hydraulic fracturing or “fracking” to extract oil and natural gas from underground rock formations, while 47% are opposed. Public support for fracking declined from 48% in support in March 2013 and has been stable in August and November of 2014.

An earlier Pew Research analysis found that opposition to increased fracking grew during this period, particularly among Midwesterners, women and those under age 50. 31

Men express more support than do women for the increased use of fracking (46% compared with 33%). Whites and blacks tend to support the increased use of fracking more than do Hispanics. And seniors, ages 65 and older, tend to express more support for fracking than do adults under age 30.

Note that these findings come from the August 2014 survey due to the availability of additional science knowledge and education variables. The patterns described here are roughly the same as those found in the Pew Research survey conducted a few months later in Nov. 2014. 32

Consistent with views about other energy issues, there are no differences (or only modest differences) by education on support for the increased use of fracking. Nor are there differences in views about fracking between those with more and less knowledge about science, generally.

Modest Differences in Views About Fracking by Education and Science Knowledge

There are wide differences of opinion among political party and ideological groups when it comes to fracking, as was also found on opinions about other energy issues. A majority of Republicans and independents who lean to the GOP express support for the increased use of fracking by a margin of 57%-33%. By contrast, a majority of Democrats and independents who lean to the Democratic Party oppose the increased use of fracking by a similar margin (62% oppose to 30% in favor).

Similarly, a majority of conservatives favor the increased use of fracking (54%) while seven-in-ten liberals oppose this idea.

Ideologically consistent party groups diverge strongly in their views about fracking. Fully 73% of conservative Republicans support the increased use of fracking, while 71% of liberal Democrats are opposed. Independents are split, with 35% in favor of the idea of increasing hydraulic fracturing and 57% opposed.

Factors Associated With Views About Hydraulic Fracturing

A multivariate logistic regression shows both party and ideological leanings significantly predict views about fracking. Republicans and those leaning to the GOP are more likely to support the increased use of fracking relative to Democrats and those leaning to the Democrats; the increase in predicted probability is 0.24. Conservatives (+0.24) and moderates (+0.15) are more likely to support the increased use of fracking than are liberals, all else being equal. Conservative Republicans/leaning Republicans are predicted to be 48 percentage points more likely to favor the increased use of fracking than are liberal Democrats/leaning Democrats, holding the other variables at their means.

Men are 12 percentage points more likely to support fracking than are women, with party and ideology statistically controlled. Blacks are 12 percentage points more likely to support fracking than are whites. There are no significant differences by education or science knowledge after controlling for other factors.

Building More Nuclear Power Plants

About half of Americans (51%) oppose building more nuclear power plants, while 45% are in favor. These figures are up modestly from 2009, when Pew Research last asked about this issue using the same question wording.

Other Pew Research surveys asked for opinions about the government promoting the use of nuclear power in connection with “government policies to address America’s energy supply.” 33 The December 2014 survey found 41% of adults in favor and 53% opposed to the government promoting the increased use of nuclear power. Views on this issue have fluctuated modestly in recent years.

As with other energy issues, there are sizeable differences between men and women in views about nuclear power. A majority of men (54%) favor building more nuclear power plants while just 36% of women favor doing so. Older adults (ages 65 and older) are more inclined to favor building more nuclear power plants than are younger age cohorts. Blacks tend to express less support for nuclear power than do whites. Just 35% of blacks favor building more nuclear power plants, 65% oppose. By comparison, whites are closely divided on this issue, with 48% in favor and 47% opposed to building more nuclear power plants. Hispanics and non-Hispanic whites hold similar views on this issue. As noted below, however, race and ethnic differences are not significant once other factors are statistically controlled.

Modest Differences in Views About Nuclear Power by Education and Science Knowledge

There are some, though mostly modest, differences in views about nuclear power by education. Half of those with a college degree (and 54% of those also holding a postgraduate degree) favor building more nuclear power plants. By comparison, 43% of those with some college education and 42% of those with a high school degree or less favor building more nuclear power plants.

There are no significant differences between college-degree-holders with a background in science fields as compared to other fields on this issue. And, those with more and less general science knowledge hold similar views about nuclear power.

Wide Party and Ideology Differences in Support for Building More Nuclear Power Plants

As with views about other energy issues, there are wide differences between party and ideological groups on views about nuclear power. A 60% majority of Republicans and independents who lean Republican favor building more nuclear power plants. By contrast, a similar share (62%) of Democrats and independents who lean to the Democratic Party oppose building more nuclear power plants.

Political conservatives are more likely than moderates or liberals to support building more nuclear power plants. Conservative Republicans express lopsided support for building more nuclear power plants by a margin of 73%-25%. A majority of moderate and liberal Republicans (55%) also support building more nuclear power plants. By contrast, a majority of political independents, conservative and moderate Democrats and liberal Democrats oppose building more nuclear power plants.

Factors Associated With Views About Nuclear Power

A multivariate logistic regression finds party identification a significant predictor of support for building more nuclear power plants. Those who identify with or lean to the GOP are 23 percentage points more likely to favor building more nuclear power plants, relative to their Democratic counterparts when holding all other factors at their means. The effect of ideology is weaker – being conservative does not quite reach statistical significance at the 0.05 level.

Those with a postgraduate degree are 17 percentage points more likely to favor building additional nuclear power plants. In contrast to several other science-related topics, education and political party influence attitudes about nuclear power in the same direction. In addition, men and older adults are more in favor of building more nuclear power plants. There are no statistically significant differences by race and ethnicity once other factors are statistically controlled.

A separate analysis, not shown, found no differences by religious affiliation or frequency of church attendance in views about nuclear power. (Details are available upon request.)

Prioritizing Alternative Energy Sources or Fossil Fuels

Which Should Be the More Important Priority for America’s Energy Supply?

A separate Pew Research survey asked adults to choose between developing alternative energy sources and expanding the exploration and production of fossil fuels as the more important priority for addressing America’s energy supply. Overall, six-in-ten (60%) Americans said developing alternative energy sources such as wind, solar and hydrogen technology should be the priority, 30% said expanding the production of oil, coal and natural gas should be the priority. 34

Adults under 30 prioritize alternative energy development over expanding fossil fuels by a 74%-20% margin. By contrast, those ages 65 and older are more divided with 48% giving priority to developing alternative energy sources such as wind, solar and hydrogen technology and 41% saying that expansion of oil, coal and natural gas should be the priority.

Women are a bit more likely than men to prioritize the development of alternative energy sources. Differences among race and ethnic groups are not statistically significant.

Priorities for America’s Energy Supply, by Education

On average, those with a postgraduate degree tend to prioritize the development of alternative energy sources (69%) over expansion of fossil fuel production (24%). Support for prioritizing alternative energy development over expanding fossil fuel production is lower among those with no more than a high school diploma (55%-33%).

While the index of science knowledge was not asked on this survey, one question captured an issue tied to specific knowledge about energy issues. Overall 54% of adults were aware that the amount of energy produced in the United States has been increasing “in recent years.” Knowing that America’s energy production has been on the rise is not significantly related to views about priorities for energy supply, however.

Strong Party, Ideological Differences in Priorities for America’s Energy Supply

There are wide differences in energy priorities along party and ideological lines.

Democrats and independents who lean to the Democratic Party express broad support for prioritizing alternative energy production (75%-17%). Liberal Democrats also express strong support for prioritizing alternative energy sources over expanding traditional fossil fuel sources (81%-15%).

Overall, Republicans and those who lean to the GOP are more closely divided (46%-43%). Differences among this group are largely due to sizeable differences between independents, a majority of whom prioritize development of alternative energy sources, and those who identify with the GOP (only 36% of whom prioritize alternative energy development).

Factors Associated With Prioritizing Alternative Energy Sources Over More Oil, Coal, Gas Production

A multivariate logistic regression analysis finds a strong effect of party identification on energy policy priorities. Republicans and leaning Republicans are 33% less likely than their Democratic counterparts to prioritize developing alternative energy sources over expanding oil, coal and natural gas production. Those with no party affiliation or leaning are less likely than Democrats and independents who lean to the Democratic Party to hold this position (-0.15). And, conservatives are 14% less likely than liberals to prioritize alternative energy development. The predicted probability for a liberal Democrat (or independent leaning Democratic) to prioritize alternative energy development is 0.86, while the predicted probability for conservative Republicans (or independents leaning to the GOP) is 0.41 – a difference of 45 percentage points, controlling for other factors.

In addition, there are strong differences by age with older adults 39% less likely than younger ones to say that development of alternative energy sources should be a more important priority than expansion of fossil fuel production. Blacks are less likely than whites to say the same (-0.21), controlling for other factors.

Genetically Engineered Fuel from Plants

Support for Increased Use of Bioengineered Fuel Alternatives

Fully 68% of adults favor one newer form of energy development — increased use of genetically engineered plants as a fuel alternative to gasoline. Just 26% of adults oppose the increase use of genetically engineered plants as an alternative to gasoline.

There are few differences among subgroups of the population on this topic, perhaps reflecting limited public familiarity with this new form of energy technology. Both men and women hold about the same views when it comes to bioengineered fuel alternatives from plants. African Americans are less likely than either whites or Hispanics to express support for increased use of genetically engineered plants as a fuel alternative to gasoline. And older adults express less support for this idea than do younger adults.

There are no differences in views about bioengineered plant-based fuel alternatives by education or knowledge levels about science facts.

Unlike other energy technologies, there are no differences in views about genetically engineered fuel alternatives by party or ideology.

Multivariate Analysis

We tested a model predicting support for the increased use of bioengineered fuel but found the model was not significant in predicting views on this issue. 35

Population Growth and Natural Resources

A majority of Americans express concern that world population growth will strain the planet’s natural resources: 59% of adults have a pessimistic view about the effect of population growth, saying it will be a major problem because there will not be enough food and resources to go around. Nearly four-in-ten (38%) take the view that growth will not be a major problem because the world will find a way to stretch its natural resources. Views on this issue are roughly the same as when Pew Research last asked about them in a survey in 2013.

African Americans are more optimistic that new solutions will emerge to address the strains on natural resources caused by a growing world population. Whites and Hispanics, by comparison, are more likely to see the growing world population as leading to a major problem. Sizeable opinion differences by race and ethnicity were also present in the 2013 survey.

There are no differences or only modest differences in viewpoints about this issue by gender or age.

There are no differences in views about this issue across education groups. A majority of all education groups say that the growing world population will be a major problem because there won’t be enough food and resources to go around. And, those with more and less knowledge about science hold roughly the same views about this issue.

Party and Ideological Differences in Views About Resources and Population Growth

Republicans and leaning Republicans are more inclined than are Democrats and those leaning to the Democratic Party to believe that the growing world population will not pose a major problem because we will find a way to stretch our natural resources. Political conservatives, of any party affiliation, are divided between this point of view (48%) and the view that growth in the world population will pose major problems on food supplies and natural resources (49%).

A 54% majority of conservative Republicans believe we will find a way to stretch our natural resources, while 44% say that growing world population will be a major problem. By contrast, fully 69% of liberal Democrats say the global population growth will pose major problems on our food supply and natural resources and just three-in-ten say we will find a way to stretch resources such that global population growth will not be a major problem.

Factors Associated With Views About Global Population Growth and Natural Resources

A multivariate logistic analysis finds that both party affiliation and political ideology predict views about resources and population growth. As shown above, conservatives are more likely than liberals to say that global population growth will not pose a major problem because we will find a way to stretch resources. Conservatives are 18 percentage points less likely than liberals to hold this view, holding all other factors at their means. Republicans and those who lean to the GOP are more inclined than Democrats and independents that lean to the Democratic Party to say that global population growth will not be a major problem because we will find a way to stretch resources.

African Americans are less likely to say the growing world population will be a major problem than are whites. The change in the predicted probability of a black respondent saying the growth in the global population will be a major problem is 27 percentage points as compared with a white respondent, when all other factors are statistically controlled.

A separate analysis finds religious groups to significantly predict views on this issue but the factors described above are statistically significant even with religious affiliation and frequency of church attendance controlled. (See forthcoming report on religion and science-related attitudes; model details are available upon request.)

See Pew Research Center’s June 2014 report, “ Political Polarization in America: How Ideological Uniformity and Partisan Antipathy Affect Politics, Compromise and Everyday Life .” ↩
For trends on views about climate change since 2006, see the 2015 Pew Research Center report “Public and Scientists’ Views on Science and Society,” Chapter 3. And the 2013 Pew Research report “GOP Deeply Divided Over Climate Change.” A 2015 Pew Research survey also analyzes public views about climate change with similar results, see Pew Research Center’s June report “Catholics Divided Over Global Warming: Partisan Differences Mirror Those Among General Public.” ↩
One exception is gender. On the multi-question alternative, men are less likely than women to say there is solid evidence the Earth is getting warmer, a pattern that is consistent with past Pew Research surveys. ↩
Also see Krogstad, Jens Manuel. Feb. 27, 2015. “Hispanics more likely than whites to say global warming is caused by humans.” Fact Tank. ↩
The same pattern occurs when asked first whether there is evidence the Earth is warming, and second for their reasons behind that viewpoint. See Funk, Cary. Jan. 29, 2015. “5 key findings on what Americans and scientists think about science.” Fact Tank. Fully 87% of Democrats and independents who lean Democratic say there is solid evidence the Earth is warming, while just 10% say there is no solid evidence of this. By contrast, 53% of Republicans and independents who lean Republican say the Earth is warming and 43% say there is no solid evidence of warming over the past few decades. ↩
See Pew Research Center’s 2013 report “GOP Deeply Divided Over Climate Change.” ↩
We also ran these analyses without including beliefs about scientific consensus to test that the findings shown here hold regardless of this difference in model specification. Details are available upon request. ↩
We also conducted a series of multinomial logistic regression analyses predicting one of three positions: respondents say climate change is occurring and mostly due to human activity, climate change is occurring but mostly due to natural processes or there is no solid evidence of climate change occurring. For ease of interpretation, we show the results of separate logistic regressions above. ↩
See Pew Research Center’s June 2015 report, “Catholics Divided Over Global Warming: Partisan Differences Mirror Those Among General Public,” on the role of religious affiliation on beliefs about climate change. ↩
For more on the public’s climate change attitudes see Pew Research Center’s 2013 report “GOP Deeply Divided Over Climate Change.” ↩
See Pew Research Center’s June report, “Catholics Divided Over Global Warming: Partisan Differences Mirror Those Among General Public.” ↩
See Pew Research Center’s 2013 report “Climate Change and Financial Instability See as Top Global Threats.” ↩
See Pew Research Center’s 2014 report, “Little Enthusiasm, Familiar Divisions After GOP’s Big Midterm Victory.” ↩
See Pew Research Center’s 2014 report “As U.S. Energy Production Grows, Public Policy Views Show Little Change.” ↩
See Pew Research Center’s 2014 report “Little Enthusiasm, Familiar Divisions After GOPs Big Midterm Victory.” The Nov. 6-9, 2014, Pew Research survey repeated the question about support for fracking among the general public; it found overall support roughly the same as that reported above: 41% favor the increased use of fracking and 47% oppose. ↩
The August 2014 survey, shown here, has a larger sample overall sample than that in the November 2014 survey, as well as a larger sample of blacks and Hispanics due to oversampling in the survey design. In addition, the August 2014 survey includes additional variables for analysis by science knowledge and science education. ↩
Additional analyses found other model specifications significantly distinguish between support of and opposition to an increased use of genetically engineered plants as a fuel alternative to gasoline. A model that included a factor for family income (with those who don’t know or decline to provide their family income assigned to the midpoint of the nine-point scale) found both income and age to significantly predict views about this topic. However, we do not have a strong rationale for expecting family income to predict views on this issue, independent of education or other related factors. And, given the limited variance in views about this issue among key subgroups of the population, we seek to err on the side of caution by not displaying those results here. ↩

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Biology Article
Essay on Global Warming

Essay On Global Warming

Essay on global warming is an important topic for students to understand. The essay brings to light the plight of the environment and the repercussion of anthropogenic activities. Continue reading to discover tips and tricks for writing an engaging and interesting essay on global warming.

Essay On Global Warming in 300 Words

Global warming is a phenomenon where the earth’s average temperature rises due to increased amounts of greenhouse gases. Greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide, methane and ozone trap the incoming radiation from the sun. This effect creates a natural “blanket”, which prevents the heat from escaping back into the atmosphere. This effect is called the greenhouse effect.

Contrary to popular belief, greenhouse gases are not inherently bad. In fact, the greenhouse effect is quite important for life on earth. Without this effect, the sun’s radiation would be reflected back into the atmosphere, freezing the surface and making life impossible. However, when greenhouse gases in excess amounts get trapped, serious repercussions begin to appear. The polar ice caps begin to melt, leading to a rise in sea levels. Furthermore, the greenhouse effect is accelerated when polar ice caps and sea ice melts. This is due to the fact the ice reflects 50% to 70% of the sun’s rays back into space, but without ice, the solar radiation gets absorbed. Seawater reflects only 6% of the sun’s radiation back into space. What’s more frightening is the fact that the poles contain large amounts of carbon dioxide trapped within the ice. If this ice melts, it will significantly contribute to global warming.

A related scenario when this phenomenon goes out of control is the runaway-greenhouse effect. This scenario is essentially similar to an apocalypse, but it is all too real. Though this has never happened in the earth’s entire history, it is speculated to have occurred on Venus. Millions of years ago, Venus was thought to have an atmosphere similar to that of the earth. But due to the runaway greenhouse effect, surface temperatures around the planet began rising.

If this occurs on the earth, the runaway greenhouse effect will lead to many unpleasant scenarios – temperatures will rise hot enough for oceans to evaporate. Once the oceans evaporate, the rocks will start to sublimate under heat. In order to prevent such a scenario, proper measures have to be taken to stop climate change.

More to Read: Learn How Greenhouse Effect works

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Try to reduce the use of jargons. Use sparingly if the topic requires it.
Ensure that the content is presented in bulleted points wherever appropriate.
Insert and highlight factual data, such as dates, names and places.
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Global Warming Essay

Essay on Global Warming

The last few decades have been monumental when it comes to technological development. Humans have developed systems and machines that make our lives easier. Especially during the early modern period from the early 16th century to as far as the late 18the century, also commonly referred to as “The Scientific Revolution” or “The Enlightenment”, modern technology leapt ahead in development in such a short time frame compared to all of history.

However, with the development of society, there has been a severe detriment to the quality of Earth’s environment. One of the most massive threats to the condition of the planet is climate change. Inadequate research and reckless misuse of natural resources are some of the core reasons for the deteriorating condition of the planet.

To understand the concept of Global Warming and its causes and effects, we need to take an in-depth look into many factors that affect the temperature of the planet and what that means for the future of the world. Here is an objective look at the topic of Global Warming and other important related topics.

What is Climate Change?

Ever since the industrial and scientific revolution, Earth is slowly being used up for its resources. Moreover, the onset of the exponential increase in the world’s population is also very taxing on the environment.

Simply put, as the need for consumption of the population increases, both the utilisation of natural resources and the waste generated from the use of said resources have also increased massively.

One of the main results of this over the many years has become climate change. Climate change is not just the rise or fall of temperature of different areas of the world; it is also a change in the rain cycles, wind patterns, cyclone frequencies, sea levels, etc. It affects all major life groups on the planet in some way or the other.

What is Global Warming?

Global Warming is often considered an effect of Climate change. Global Warming is the rapid increase in the temperature of the Earth’s environment that is causing many life-threatening issues to arise.

Global Warming is a dangerous effect on our environment that we are facing these days. Rapid industrialization, increase in the population growth and pollution are causing a rise in Global Warming. Global Warming refers to the increase in the average temperature of the earth's surface during the last century. One of the reasons why Global Warming is dangerous is because it disturbs the overall ecology of the planet. This results in floods, famine, cyclones and other issues. There are many causes and results of this warming and is a danger for the existence of life on earth.

The sign of Global Warming is already visible with many natural phenomena happening around globally, affecting each living species.

Here is some data that can help to give a more precise understanding of the reality of Global Warming in the last few years:

On average, the world’s temperature is about 1.5°C higher than during the start of the industrial revolution in the late 1700s. That may not seem a lot to you, but that is an average estimate. This number is only increasing. Many parts of the world face far more severe changes in temperature that affect the planet’s overall health.

In 1950, the world’s CO 2 emissions were at 6 billion tonnes which had quadrupled in volume until 1990, just 40 years later to 22 billion tonnes. Not only that, unchecked CO 2 emissions today have reached a whopping 35 billion tonnes.

The most evident causes of Global Warming are industrialization, urbanization, deforestation, and sophisticated human activities. These human activities have led to an increase in the emission of Greenhouse Gases, including CO₂, Nitrous Oxide, Methane, and others.

Causes of Global Warming

A variety of reasons causes Global Warming. Some of which can be controlled personally by individuals but others are only expected to be solved by communities and the world leaders and activists at the global level.

Many scientists believe the main four reasons for Global Warming, according to recent studies, are:

Greenhouse gases

Deforestation

Per capita carbon emissions

Global Warming is certainly an alarming situation, which is causing a significant impact on life existence. Extreme Global Warming is resulting in natural calamities, which is quite evident happening around. One of the reasons behind Global Warming is the extreme release of greenhouse gases stuck on the earth surface, resulting in the temperature increase.

Similarly, volcanoes are also leading to Global Warming because they spew too much CO₂ in the air. One of the significant causes behind Global Warming is the increase in the population. This increase in the population also results in air pollution. Automobiles release a lot of CO₂, which remains stuck in the earth.

This increase in the population is also leading to deforestation, which further results in Global Warming. More and more trees are being cut, increasing the concentration of CO₂.

The greenhouse is the natural process where the sunlight passes through the area, thus warming the earth's surface. The earth surface releases energy in the form of heat in the atmosphere maintaining the balance with the incoming energy. Global Warming depletes the ozone layer leading to the doom's day.

There is a clear indication that the increase in Global Warming will lead to the complete extinction of life from the earth surface.

Solution for Global Warming

Global Warming can not be blamed on individuals; however, it can be tackled and maintained from worsening starting at the individual level. Of course, industries and multinational conglomerates have higher carbon emissions levels than an average citizen. Still, activism and community effort are the only feasible ways to control the worsening state of Global Warming.

Additionally, at the state or government level, world leaders need to create concrete plans and step programmes to ensure that no further harm is being caused to the environment in general.

Although we are almost late in slowing down the Global Warming rate, it is crucial to find the right solution. From individuals to governments, everyone has to work upon a solution for Global Warming. Controlling pollution, population and use of natural resources are some of the factors to consider. Switching over to the electric and hybrid car is the best way to bring down the carbon dioxide.

As a citizen, it is best to switch over to the hybrid car and to use public transport. This will reduce pollution and congestion. Another significant contribution you can make is to minimize the use of plastic. Plastic is the primary cause of Global Warming taking years to recycle.

Deforestation is another thing to consider that will help in controlling Global Warming. Planting of more trees should be encouraged to make the environment go green.

Industrialization should be under certain norms. The building of industries should be banned in green zones affecting plants and species. Hefty penalties should be levied on such sectors contributing towards Global Warming.

Effects of Global Warming

Global Warming is a real problem that many want to prove as a hoax for their political benefit. However, as aware citizens of the world, we must make sure only the truth is presented in the media.

Various parts of the environment, both flora and fauna, are directly adversely affected by the damages caused by Global Warming. Wildlife being in danger is ultimately a serious threat to the survival of humanity as we know it and its future.

The effect of Global Warming is widely seen in this decade. Glacier retreat and arctic shrinkage are the two common phenomena seen. Glaciers are melting in a fast way. These are pure examples of climate change.

Rise in sea level is another significant effect of Global Warming. This sea-level rise is leading to floods in low-lying areas. Extreme weather conditions are witnessed in many countries. Unseasonal rainfall, extreme heat and cold, wildfires and others are common every year. The number of these cases is increasing. This will indeed imbalance the ecosystem bringing the result of the extinction of species.

Similarly, marine life is also widely getting affected due to the increase in Global Warming. This is resulting in the death of marine species and other issues. Moreover, changes are expected in coral reefs, which are going to face the end in coming years.

These effects will take a steep rise in coming years, bringing the expansion of species to a halt. Moreover, humans too will witness the negative impact of Global Warming in the end.

FAQs on Global Warming Essay

1. What Global Warming will Cause?

Global warming will have a massive impact on our earth in the end. Flood, extreme weather conditions, famine, wildfire and many more will be the result. There will be hotter days, which will also increase the wildfire and famine. In the past years, many meteorological bureaus have added purple and magenta to the forecast.

Another impact of global warming will be rising sea levels. Increased ocean temperatures will lead to the melting of glaciers and ice caps. Increase in the sea level will lead to floods in many low-lying areas.

The overall ecosystem of nature will be an imbalance. This will affect nature in the long-term.

2. Why Does Global Warming Happen?

There are many reasons for the cause of global warming. There are certain gases in the atmosphere called greenhouse gases. The energy then radiates from the surface; the greenhouse gases trap longwave radiation. We humans have added to the atmospheric blanket of greenhouse affecting the living species. Warming of air, oceans, and land is how global warming happens.

Scientific Consensus

It’s important to remember that scientists always focus on the evidence, not on opinions. Scientific evidence continues to show that human activities ( primarily the human burning of fossil fuels ) have warmed Earth’s surface and its ocean basins, which in turn have continued to impact Earth’s climate . This is based on over a century of scientific evidence forming the structural backbone of today's civilization.

NASA Global Climate Change presents the state of scientific knowledge about climate change while highlighting the role NASA plays in better understanding our home planet. This effort includes citing multiple peer-reviewed studies from research groups across the world, 1 illustrating the accuracy and consensus of research results (in this case, the scientific consensus on climate change) consistent with NASA’s scientific research portfolio.

With that said, multiple studies published in peer-reviewed scientific journals 1 show that climate-warming trends over the past century are extremely likely due to human activities. In addition, most of the leading scientific organizations worldwide have issued public statements endorsing this position. The following is a partial list of these organizations, along with links to their published statements and a selection of related resources.

American Scientific Societies

Statement on climate change from 18 scientific associations.

"Observations throughout the world make it clear that climate change is occurring, and rigorous scientific research demonstrates that the greenhouse gases emitted by human activities are the primary driver." (2009) 2

American Association for the Advancement of Science

"Based on well-established evidence, about 97% of climate scientists have concluded that human-caused climate change is happening." (2014) 3

American Chemical Society

"The Earth’s climate is changing in response to increasing concentrations of greenhouse gases (GHGs) and particulate matter in the atmosphere, largely as the result of human activities." (2016-2019) 4

American Geophysical Union

"Based on extensive scientific evidence, it is extremely likely that human activities, especially emissions of greenhouse gases, are the dominant cause of the observed warming since the mid-20th century. There is no alterative explanation supported by convincing evidence." (2019) 5

American Medical Association

"Our AMA ... supports the findings of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s fourth assessment report and concurs with the scientific consensus that the Earth is undergoing adverse global climate change and that anthropogenic contributions are significant." (2019) 6

American Meteorological Society

"Research has found a human influence on the climate of the past several decades ... The IPCC (2013), USGCRP (2017), and USGCRP (2018) indicate that it is extremely likely that human influence has been the dominant cause of the observed warming since the mid-twentieth century." (2019) 7

American Physical Society

"Earth's changing climate is a critical issue and poses the risk of significant environmental, social and economic disruptions around the globe. While natural sources of climate variability are significant, multiple lines of evidence indicate that human influences have had an increasingly dominant effect on global climate warming observed since the mid-twentieth century." (2015) 8

The Geological Society of America

"The Geological Society of America (GSA) concurs with assessments by the National Academies of Science (2005), the National Research Council (2011), the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC, 2013) and the U.S. Global Change Research Program (Melillo et al., 2014) that global climate has warmed in response to increasing concentrations of carbon dioxide (CO2) and other greenhouse gases ... Human activities (mainly greenhouse-gas emissions) are the dominant cause of the rapid warming since the middle 1900s (IPCC, 2013)." (2015) 9

Science Academies

International academies: joint statement.

"Climate change is real. There will always be uncertainty in understanding a system as complex as the world’s climate. However there is now strong evidence that significant global warming is occurring. The evidence comes from direct measurements of rising surface air temperatures and subsurface ocean temperatures and from phenomena such as increases in average global sea levels, retreating glaciers, and changes to many physical and biological systems. It is likely that most of the warming in recent decades can be attributed to human activities (IPCC 2001)." (2005, 11 international science academies) 1 0

U.S. National Academy of Sciences

"Scientists have known for some time, from multiple lines of evidence, that humans are changing Earth’s climate, primarily through greenhouse gas emissions." 1 1

U.S. Government Agencies

U.s. global change research program.

"Earth’s climate is now changing faster than at any point in the history of modern civilization, primarily as a result of human activities." (2018, 13 U.S. government departments and agencies) 12

Intergovernmental Bodies

Intergovernmental panel on climate change.

“It is unequivocal that the increase of CO 2 , methane, and nitrous oxide in the atmosphere over the industrial era is the result of human activities and that human influence is the principal driver of many changes observed across the atmosphere, ocean, cryosphere, and biosphere. “Since systematic scientific assessments began in the 1970s, the influence of human activity on the warming of the climate system has evolved from theory to established fact.” 1 3-17

Other Resources

List of worldwide scientific organizations.

The following page lists the nearly 200 worldwide scientific organizations that hold the position that climate change has been caused by human action. http://www.opr.ca.gov/facts/list-of-scientific-organizations.html

U.S. Agencies

The following page contains information on what federal agencies are doing to adapt to climate change. https://www.c2es.org/site/assets/uploads/2012/02/climate-change-adaptation-what-federal-agencies-are-doing.pdf

Technically, a “consensus” is a general agreement of opinion, but the scientific method steers us away from this to an objective framework. In science, facts or observations are explained by a hypothesis (a statement of a possible explanation for some natural phenomenon), which can then be tested and retested until it is refuted (or disproved).

As scientists gather more observations, they will build off one explanation and add details to complete the picture. Eventually, a group of hypotheses might be integrated and generalized into a scientific theory, a scientifically acceptable general principle or body of principles offered to explain phenomena.

1. K. Myers, et al, "Consensus revisited: quantifying scientific agreement on climate change and climate expertise among Earth scientists 10 years later", Environmental Research Letters Vol.16 No. 10, 104030 (20 October 2021); DOI:10.1088/1748-9326/ac2774 M. Lynas, et al, "Greater than 99% consensus on human caused climate change in the peer-reviewed scientific literature", Environmental Research Letters Vol.16 No. 11, 114005 (19 October 2021); DOI:10.1088/1748-9326/ac2966 J. Cook et al., "Consensus on consensus: a synthesis of consensus estimates on human-caused global warming", Environmental Research Letters Vol. 11 No. 4, (13 April 2016); DOI:10.1088/1748-9326/11/4/048002 J. Cook et al., "Quantifying the consensus on anthropogenic global warming in the scientific literature", Environmental Research Letters Vol. 8 No. 2, (15 May 2013); DOI:10.1088/1748-9326/8/2/024024 W. R. L. Anderegg, “Expert Credibility in Climate Change”, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Vol. 107 No. 27, 12107-12109 (21 June 2010); DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1003187107 P. T. Doran & M. K. Zimmerman, "Examining the Scientific Consensus on Climate Change", Eos Transactions American Geophysical Union Vol. 90 Issue 3 (2009), 22; DOI: 10.1029/2009EO030002 N. Oreskes, “Beyond the Ivory Tower: The Scientific Consensus on Climate Change”, Science Vol. 306 no. 5702, p. 1686 (3 December 2004); DOI: 10.1126/science.1103618

2. Statement on climate change from 18 scientific associations (2009)

3. AAAS Board Statement on Climate Change (2014)

4. ACS Public Policy Statement: Climate Change (2016-2019)

5. Society Must Address the Growing Climate Crisis Now (2019)

6. Global Climate Change and Human Health (2019)

7. Climate Change: An Information Statement of the American Meteorological Society (2019)

8. American Physical Society (2021)

9. GSA Position Statement on Climate Change (2015)

10. Joint science academies' statement: Global response to climate change (2005)

11. Climate at the National Academies

12. Fourth National Climate Assessment: Volume II (2018)

13. IPCC Fifth Assessment Report, Summary for Policymakers, SPM 1.1 (2014)

14. IPCC Fifth Assessment Report, Summary for Policymakers, SPM 1 (2014)

15. IPCC Sixth Assessment Report, Working Group 1 (2021)

16. IPCC Sixth Assessment Report, Working Group 2 (2022)

17. IPCC Sixth Assessment Report, Working Group 3 (2022)

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Global warming refers to the long-term increase in Earth’s average temperature due to human activities, primarily the emission of greenhouse gases. Essays on this topic can discuss the scientific evidence supporting global warming, its impacts on weather patterns, sea-level rise, ecosystems, and human societies. Moreover, possible mitigation and adaptation strategies, as well as international agreements like the Paris Accord, can be explored. A vast selection of complimentary essay illustrations pertaining to Global Warming you can find at PapersOwl Website. You can use our samples for inspiration to write your own essay, research paper, or just to explore a new topic for yourself.

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Birding: Does global warming cause migratory birds to arrive earlier in the spring?

Several studies have appeared that used archival bird records over decades to see if arrival dates are getting earlier.

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The pine warbler is among the species with the most extreme changes in arrival date, with other short-distance migrants like the tree swallow, and species undergoing significant population growth, like the turkey vulture and red-eyed vireo. Joe Songer/al.com/TNS

The glorious spring migration is coming to an end. The arrival of black-billed cuckoos, Nelson’s sparrows, saltmarsh sparrows and blackpoll warblers will be the last trickle of the river of migrants.

We know that average temperatures have been steadily rising since the start of the Industrial Revolution in 1850. The warming leads to springs with earlier appearances of leaves, caterpillars, frogs calling, and hundreds of other biological phenomena. One would expect that migratory birds accelerate their arrivals onto their breeding grounds to keep pace with the changing ecology.

Over the past 20 years, several studies have appeared that used archival bird records over decades to see if arrival dates are getting earlier. Analysis of records from New York and Massachusetts showed significantly earlier arrivals for most migratory breeding birds. Similar data for Maine show relatively few examples of accelerated arrival dates.

A recent study headed by Lori Petranski of West Virginia University presents data on arrival dates in the Central Appalachians for 115 species using several sources of crowd-sourced data. The study is particularly notable because of its scope, with the authors presenting data for 127 years, although they do not have continuous data over that time. When using archival data, one must be satisfied with whatever data are available.

Forty-five of the 115 species showed significantly earlier arrival dates over the 127-year period. The advances were striking: 2.6 days per decade for those 45 species. Species with the most extreme changes in arrival date were short-distance migrants like the pine warbler and the tree swallow, and species undergoing significant population growth, like the turkey vulture and red-eyed vireo.

An English study led by Jennifer Gill of the University of East Anglia focused on arrival dates of a shorebird, the black-tailed godwit. At the population level, the godwits are arriving earlier. However, older, color-banded birds continue to arrive at the same time each year. Young birds are the ones arriving earlier. It will be interesting to see if songbirds show this same pattern. Advertisement

Another consequence of global warming is that the optimal temperature for different species may force the population to shift northward. It may behoove migratory birds to extend their migration northward, particularly at the southern end of the range of a species to avoid temperatures that are too warm.

Paulo Martin and colleagues from the Catholic University in Chile analyzed changes in the optimal latitude for 209 species of North American birds over the last 55 years. Seventy species showed a shift in their optimal latitude. Overall, the peak density of birds has shifted northward about 50 miles over the course of the study.

Despite an abundance of research, we still do not understand how many young birds know their migratory routes and destination. Research by Patrik Byholm and colleagues in Finland focused on the learning of migratory pathways by Caspian terns. They placed GPS-trackers on 31 related birds to track the migration between breeding grounds in northern Europe and wintering grounds in Africa.

Adult males have the main responsibility for migrating with young. Young birds always stayed close to an adult male, with the bond dissipating on the wintering grounds. Adults migrating alone were faster than those accompanying young. Four young birds that were separated from the adults all died.

In the spring, all the young birds followed the route in reverse in solo flights to attempt breeding in the area where they were born.

Shorebirds abandon their chicks soon after hatching and begin their migration weeks ahead of their self-sufficient chicks. The young have no guide for their first migration, so the direction and distance must be genetically coded. Songbirds do not migrate as families, either, so genetics must be involved in getting young birds to their wintering areas. This phenomenon is a rich subject for future research.

Herb Wilson taught ornithology and other biology courses at Colby College. He welcomes reader comments and questions at [email protected]

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Do you want good or bad news on tornadoes and hurricanes?

By mark gongloff.

If the Car Crash Fairy offered you a deal that would lower your odds of getting in a car accident, but the trade-off was that any accidents you did get into would be far more likely to injure or kill you, you probably wouldn’t take that deal. But that might be the bargain we have made with climate change and two of the most destructive natural disasters.

Many of the heat waves, droughts and floods wracking the planet have clearly been made more likely by warming. The jury is still out on whether tornadoes and hurricanes will similarly become more frequent. They might even happen less often, at least in some places. But the ones that do occur could be more destructive, raising risks for everyone from insurers to urban planners.

People in the Midwest facing yet another onslaught of tornadoes could be forgiven for thinking there have never been more of them. Consider Indiana, for example, suffering its fifth twister attack of 2024 after one of the state’s busiest years on record. But, in fact, tornadoes seem to happen in Indiana about as often now as they did in, say, the 1970s.

This might seem counterintuitive. The supercell thunderstorms that breed tornadoes thrive on heat, moisture and instability in the air, something weather nerds call CAPE, or convective available potential energy. And climate change is certainly generating plenty of that. But these storms also need “wind shear,” a change in wind speed and direction at different altitudes. While global warming creates more CAPE, it also creates less wind shear.

In some places and times, warming’s CAPE effect will outweigh its wind-shear effect, producing more tornadoes. In other times and places, the opposite will happen. Good luck trying to model it; tornadoes are hyperlocal events that chaotically pop in and out of existence like virtual particles or TikTok dances.

A 2021 study by researchers at Columbia University and Central Michigan University suggested that every one degree Celsius of warming would make tornado-friendly conditions increase by 5% to 20%, though the actual incidence of severe weather would increase by a little less. The planet has warmed by about 1.3 degree Celsius above pre-industrial averages so far. Maybe a world of 2.7 degree Celsius warming will have noticeably more supercell storms and other severe weather, including damaging winds and hail.

And a new study from researchers at Iowa State University and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory suggests that, as the climate warms, tornadoes will increasingly be included in the package deal of misery delivered by hurricanes, along with floods, storm surge and high winds.

Again, though, the jury is out. A couple of years back, scientists did notice a trend of fewer days with tornadoes, but many more tornadoes hitting all at once, in clusters, when conditions were right. And they generally expect that the Tornado Alley that cuts through the middle of the U.S. will shift eastward over time and that supercell storms will happen earlier in the year as the planet warms.

That may sound like a wash, but as tornadoes leave the great wide open of the Plains, they will encroach on places where more people live, often in mobile homes and other structures that aren’t prepared for them. The net effect is that the number of severe U.S. storms inflicting at least $1 billion in damage has soared in recent years, setting a record in 2023, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Hurricanes are a little easier to predict than tornadoes, and climate models suggest global warming might actually make them happen less often. Despite all the heating we’ve experienced so far, the same number of hurricanes make landfall in the U.S. today as 125 years ago, according to NASA.

That’s where the good news ends. As Texas A&M University climate scientist Andrew Dessler pointed out in a recent Substack post, hotter air and water — along with the aforementioned dampening of wind shear — mean the hurricanes that do form will be far more intense and destructive. Rising sea levels will also increase storm surge, and don’t forget about those hurricane-spawned tornadoes (hurrinadoes?). As with tornadoes, the end result could be more deaths and injuries and more monetary damage and losses for insurers, even if hurricanes are fewer in number.

The first lesson here is that we must stop making the climate even more chaotic by burning fossil fuels and pumping greenhouse gases into the atmosphere as quickly as possible. Meanwhile, businesses and homeowners who might think they’re not in harm’s way should consider the possibility that the harm will come to find them. Policymakers need to help vulnerable people prepare for a potentially more dangerous future and ensure that infrastructure and housing can better withstand whatever nature brings. When it comes to disasters, as with car accidents, quantity is far less important than quality.

Mark Gongloff is a Bloomberg Opinion editor and columnist covering climate change. He previously worked for Fortune.com, the Huffington Post and the Wall Street Journal.

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Ex-congressman from Fresno expected to take plea deal in federal fraud case

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T.J. Cox, a former Democratic congressman from Fresno, is finalizing a plea deal in a sweeping federal case in which he is accused of campaign contribution fraud and stealing from his own companies, his attorney said Friday.

Cox, 60, previously pleaded not guilty to 15 counts of wire fraud, 11 counts of money laundering, one count of financial institution fraud, and one count of campaign contribution fraud.

On May 15, Cox’s attorney, Mark Coleman, filed papers in U.S. District Court seeking to schedule a change-of-plea hearing for July.

“We expect to reach an agreement in the relatively near future,” Coleman told the Times.

He did not provide details about the agreement but said Cox “is taking this very seriously.”

A spokeswoman for the U.S. attorney’s office declined to comment on a potential deal because an agreement had not yet been filed.

“Things can change,” she said.

In August 2022, Cox, a one-term member of the U.S. House of Representatives, was arrested by FBI agents and briefly jailed after the federal government unsealed an indictment accusing him of swindling at least $1.7 million from business partners and multiple companies that he owned.

Some of the money allegedly was used as illegal straw donations to his 2018 congressional campaign. In that race, Cox narrowly defeated three-term Rep. David Valadao, a Hanford Republican, and flipped the Central Valley’s purpling 22nd Congressional District from GOP control.

Cox unseated Valadao by just 862 votes amid the so-called anti-Trump “blue wave” when Democrats took control of the House.

In 2020, Cox lost by 1,522 votes in a rematch against Valadao, who later became one of 10 House Republicans to vote for former President Trump’s impeachment after the Jan. 6 insurrection.

Cox is expected to have a change-of-plea hearing in federal court on July 29.

After his 2022, arrest, Cox emerged from the Fresno County Jail and told reporters that he was innocent and a victim of political persecution.

“Politics is a tough game,” Cox said. “I wouldn’t be in this position today but for the politics, and I think we all know that.”

Cox’s alleged crimes, according to the federal complaint, involved three businesses: an almond-processing company that he partially owned; a sports nonprofit, for which he was a co-director, that operated an ice skating and hockey rink in Fresno; and a Fresno-based business he partially owned that helped other companies get loans and federal tax credits for development in disadvantaged areas.

Cox defrauded the tax credit company and its clients of more than $1 million, prosecutors allege.

The indictment accuses Cox of opening an unauthorized bank account using the company’s name “without the knowledge of the other owners” or its accountants, tax preparers or auditors.

He allegedly diverted checks and wire transfers intended for the company and used the money to pay for personal expenses, to fund other business ventures and to pay off personal and business debts.

Cox is accused of causing losses of $750,000 to lenders and investors in the almond company. He allegedly diverted funds using another unauthorized bank account opened without knowledge of his business partners or the company’s accountants.

Prosecutors say that in April 2017, Cox fraudulently solicited a $100,000 loan said to be for almond processing equipment, deposited it into a personal bank account, and did not pay it back.

Some of that money allegedly was used for private school tuition, credit card and mortgage payments, and a $7,000 payment to Cox’s political consultant.

The indictment also alleges that Cox lied to secure significant loan funds.

As a business partner in a Fresno sports nonprofit that applied for a $1.5-million construction loan to develop land in the city’s Granite Park, he fabricated a board resolution that stated his tax credit company would guarantee the loan, prosecutors said.

The loan was approved, but the sports nonprofit eventually defaulted, and the tax credit company bought the debt after Cox had left the company.

During his 2018 run for Congress, prosecutors said, Cox took money from the fraudulent almond company account and from the sports nonprofit and gave it to business associates and family members who donated to his campaign under their names.

If convicted, Cox faces a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for wire fraud and money laundering, 30 years in prison and a $1-million fine for wire fraud affecting a financial institution, and five years in prison and a $250,000 fine for campaign contribution fraud.

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Hailey Branson-Potts is an enterprise reporter on the State Team who joined the Los Angeles Times in 2011. She reports on a wide range of issues and people, with a special focus on Northern California and the Central Coast. She grew up in the small town of Perry, Okla., and graduated from the University of Oklahoma.

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