Ever wonder what percent of adults in Meade County, South Dakota, believe that CO2 should be regulated as a pollutant? Now you can sleep at night (it’s 66%).
The Yale Program on Climate Change Communication has updated its Climate Opinion Maps for the first time since 2014, providing some of the most accurate information on climate change views in the United States.
The data is based on national surveys that ask adults if they believe the Earth is warming and how worried they are about climate change as a direct threat to people in the US. It also measured the degree to which people think governments should respond.
Read More: 17 Thought-Provoking Quotes From Bill Nye During His Chat With Bernie Sanders
Data is broken down by national, state, congressional district, metro area, and county levels.
According to the project’s website:
“Public opinion about global warming is an important influence on decision making about policies to reduce global warming or prepare for the impacts, but American opinions vary widely depending on where people live. […] We can now estimate public opinion across the country and a rich picture of the diversity of Americans’ beliefs, attitudes, and policy support is revealed.”
The map captures many crucial distinctions.
For instance, it shows that while many people accept that climate change is happening, many people also doubt that humans are to blame.
On a national level, approximately 70% of all adults in the US believe that the Earth is warming (at 49%, Grant County, West Virginia, and Emery County, Utah, were the only counties in the nation where it is estimated that a majority of adults do not believe the Earth is getting warmer) but only 53% believe humans are mostly to blame.
Read More: A Powerful Climate Change Film Made by Shell in 1991 was Just Unearthed
By breaking down information on a more micro level, the map further illustrates how varied opinions are on the matter. This map shows the difference in beliefs about man-made climate change based on congressional districts.
Coastal and metropolitan areas agree that humans are causing climate change.
Overall, it’s shockingly similar to the 2016 electoral map:
There is no direct cause-and-effect relationship, but opinions on climate change mirror the presidential candidate people supported.
This kind of access to information and understanding of where the nation currently stands in combating one of the greatest threats to life on Earth is the study’s greatest achievement.
Read More: Half of the Species on Earth Could Go Extinct by 2050, Scientists Say
“For the first time, it’s given us a chance for us to see the incredible diversity within the country,” Anthony Leiserowitz, co-author of the study told ClimateWire. “It’s like a biologist being given a microscope for the first time.”
When it comes to climate change, however, diversity of opinion isn’t necessarily good. Even though 97% of climate scientists agree that the Earth’s climate is warming and humans are the cause, the map reports 28% of Americans believe scientists are in disagreement that global warming is real.
On an optimistic note, at 82%, Americans overwhelmingly support investing in renewable energy. Meanwhile, 69% support strict CO2 limits on existing coal-fired power plants.