Infographic – Most in US Say Climate Change Affects Them

Click on image for full-size view (Statista)

7 Dec. 2019. A solid majority of Americans now says that climate change affects their communities, a finding that could affect future state and federal public policies. The data for this weekend’s infographic are displayed by our friends at Statista, from a recent survey by the Pew Research Center.

The Pew survey of American adults, taken 1 to 13 October, shows about six in 10 respondents (61%) say climate change at least somewhat affects their communities. About one in three of those individuals (22%) say climate change affects their towns or cities a great deal. The findings are comparable to results from a 2018 Pew survey showing 59 percent of Americans believe climate change affects their communities in some respects or more.

A breakdown of the Pew data indicates geography is a major factor in forming an opinion about climate change, which should come as no surprise. Two-thirds of respondents living within 25 miles of a coastline (67%) say climate change affects their communities, compared to 59 percent of those within 300 miles of the ocean. Another key factor is politics. Some eight in 10 Democrats and independents leaning to Democrats say their communities are affected by climate change, compared to roughly four in 10 (38%) of Republicans and their independent allies.

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