American's worries about climate change FALL sharply, poll shows, despite dire weather forecasts
Americans are much less worried now about than they were three years ago, a poll showed on Monday, even as scientists warn of devastating heatwaves and as President readies to sign $375bn of green spending. Overall, 35 percent of U.S. adults say they are extremely or very concerned about the effects of climate change on them personally, down from 44 percent in August 2019. Another third say they are somewhat concerned. Respondents were similarly downbeat about whether their actions such as recycling or cutting energy use had any impact on global warming. Only about half said their behavior was consequential, compared with two-thirds in 2019. Still, most Americans believe that climate change is real and caused by humans. While 70 percent agree with making lifestyle changes, most people are switching off lights and air conditioning units to save money rather than the planet. The downward shift in views on climate in the AP-NORC of some 1,000 adults in June was released on Monday as Biden readied this week to ink a bill for $375 billion in climate spending over the next decade. The House approved the Inflation Reduction Act on Friday, which will incentivize investment in wind, solar and other clean energies and speed the transition away from the carbon-heavy oil, coal and gas behind climate change. The polling, carried out before the deal was agreed, suggest Americans interest in climate change has waned amid worrying economic omens, including 8.5 percent inflation that puts everyday basics like groceries and gasoline out of reach for many. It also comes as Kentuckians recover from flooding last month that claimed 37 lives, as wildfires rage in Alaska, New Mexico, California and beyond, and scientists warn of megafloods in California and an extreme heat belt from Texas to Wisconsin. A north-to-south belt that is home to some 107.6 million Americans and covers a quarter of the US land area, temperatures could reach 125 degrees in summer each year by 2053, the First Street Foundation, a climate change group. We need to be prepared for the inevitable ... and the results will be dire, said the research organizations founder Matthew Eby. Scientists in California on Friday that climate change was increasing the risk of extreme, month-long storms and floods that could submerge whole cities and displace millions of people across the state. California is prone to such once-in-a-century 'megafloods', but climate change could cause lengthy downpours of rain around San Francisco or massive snowfall in the Sierra Nevada mountains that wreak havoc. Daniel Swain, a University of California at Los Angeles scientist who co-authored the study, said the risks of such a calamity, akin to a megaflood in 1862, were underappreciated and increasing.