More than 70% of Americans believe that climate change is happening and more people than ever consider global warming a real threat to themselves, their families, and their communities, according to a new report.
The report tracked nationwide public opinions about climate change in an annual survey.
Nearly a third of the 1,114 respondents said they are “very worried” about global warming, marking the highest level since the surveys began in 2008. The proportion of those who believe climate change is occurring right now is also at its highest level since 2008.
“It’s clear that many more people are seeing climate as an urgent issue of the present and that it’s harming them now,” said Aaron Bernstein, co-director of the Center for Climate, Health, and the Global Environment at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, in a January 22, 2019 CNN article.
Bernstein, who was not involved in the report, said he hopes the findings will spur people to take actions to address climate change that will also improve health, such as burning less fossil fuels, bicycling, walking, and eating healthier diets with less red meat and more fruits and vegetables.
Read the CNN article: Record number of Americans ‘very worried’ about climate change, report finds
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