One of the most challenging aspects of climate change is the simple fact that not everyone believes it exists. I’ve been hanging around Nextdoor and Reddit recently to see why people aren’t outraged at all the recent Executive Orders and shifts in our government that have had major impacts on American’s quality of life. I’ve also been following climate activists on Substack. That’s when I caught wind of a January 15, 2025 study published in Climate Change.
The journal cited an increase in public perception of climate change being a reality and about 58% believing that humans are the reason. But it still accounts for quite a bit of Americans who don’t believe it. A qualitative study was done to analyze the climate perspectives from Kansas who are more vulnerable to climate change and who tend towards a conservative viewpoint. Some of the questions asked them to write their perspective five years ago versus currently on whether climate change was either from natural causes or human activities.
From 177 total pool, 53 were eligible for the study after conducting a screening survey. The participants came from diverse backgrounds and age. The majority were white females with a college degree.
This is a graph taken from here of the various themes that led to a shift in their thinking.
When asked to reflect on their past views about climate change stemming from natural causes, they described it as, “skeptical, dismissive, ignorant or derisive.” As a result, some believed it wasn’t real or their responsibility. While others believed this was a reflection of their age and being unaware of what was going outside of their conservative home or school lives.
Processes Toward Shifts in Thinking
- Distancing themselves from their ideological community – could be physical distancing from moving for example, traveling, or going to college. Distancing could also be from becoming a part of a new network of people.
- Desire to gain information. Individuals who sought their own answers because of new ways of thinking from meeting new people or to prove they were right, learned about climate and began seeing it in a different way.
- Realization that led to a shift in opinion. Challenged from this newfound information, participants had a change in worldview. Sometimes this is from experiencing nature or natural disasters.
Four participants didn’t follow the same pattern above but arrived there through a gradual shift from seeking out information or observing change in weather. Participants recognized their limits in climate knowledge and had an interest in learning more. Although a few were skeptical of humans having an impact on climate, most were concerned about climate change and its impact on future generations.
The conclusion of the study stated that although participants came from diverse backgrounds their beliefs about climate change look similar. But even after their beliefs changed, their ideologies can vastly differ. The challenge is that not everyone was willing to change their behavior to help the climate even after accepting that humans could contribute to climate change.
What to Take Away From This Study
The takeaway is that new environments and communities have a big impact on people’s beliefs and can open the door to different worldviews. Talking with others about climate change through community gatherings and tourism could help in shifting people’s minds about climate.
Another important insight is that facts alone may not cause a difference in mindset, but giving people resources so that they can make up their own mind is helpful.
The final point is that personal experience is a key factor in encouraging a shift in people’s understanding and acceptance of climate change. Any opportunity whether by events, tourism, classes that give individuals a first hand experience of climate change while educating them can be influential.
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