In 2017, I wrote about the risks of compound extremes: extreme events occurring in rapid sequence in the same place, or simultaneously in nearby regions. science2017.globalchange.gov/chapter/15/
Fast forward 8 years and here we are - in a place I know well, not far from West TX 😱
Do the people being impacted understand why it is happening and that it's going to get worse unless we take action now? There will be a range of opinions, for sure.
I’m doing my best to close that gap. Still too few do, though.
Percent of adults who believe climate change will affect them personally. Source: climatecommunication.yale.edu/visualizatio...
That is terrifying, especially considering that I'd bet a higher percentage than that ALREADY HAVE been personally affected by climate change, but don't realize that's what it was.
Interestingly, a Sept 2023 survey by AP found that 90% of US respondents had personally experienced extreme weather events in the last five years and 2/3 agreed climate change was making them worse. I think the answer may depend on how the question is asked.
We're unwilling to connect the dots for a bunch of reasons, not least well known cognitive biases. Some people smoke all the way thru pallitive care, what proportion of 1st world is doing the same?
Interesting that people who have been through a major weather event (e.g., flooding from Harvey in Houston) tend to understand climate change is afoot. It’s easier to believe something has changed when your house sits in five feet of muddy bayou for a week.
“Do the people being impacted understand why it is happening…”
No, not in Lincoln County, New Mexico (where Ruidoso is). The county is insanely red and they hate democrats and anything being blamed on climate change. (My family lives there.)
So sad when politics is conflated with science - people not believing in climate science because they associate it with liberals who they think they despise.
