Climate Change In America Essay

Climate change is a change in global or regional climate patterns; this change has been apparent from the mid to late 20th century and has also attributed largely to the increased levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide produced by the use of fossil fuels. However, what does the common American know about climate change? In this paper we will discuss what Americans understand about the climate system, identify important gaps in public knowledge about climate change, and solutions for educating the public and future generations. The public plays a crucial role in making a difference today and for future generations in regards to climate change and the adverse effects we are seeing. With everyday choices that American’s make whether it be choosing eco-friendly products or choosing to car pool, our decisions do matter. However, how informed the public is about the consequences of their actions does play a significant role. In a

In a recent study, John Sterman a professor at Massachusetts Institute of Technology's (MIT) Sloan School of Management, asked 212 MIT graduate students, who have schooling in sciences, math and other educational backgrounds, to write about “how much governments need to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions by to eventually stop the increase in the concentration of carbon in the atmosphere” (Walsh, 2008). However, when the students submitted their answers 84 percent got the question wrong, with the results seen here it reflects the huge gap in our understanding of global warming and climate change. Scientists, believe that climate change is very serious and needs to be dealt with immediately while the public, increasingly believes that climate change is real and worries about it, but which rarely ranks it as a high priority (Walsh, 2008). This allows us to recognize that we need the scientific information on climate change to be in terms that the public understands and is