Top Posts
Death toll from Mokwa flood rises to 153
Scientists say nearly 40% of the world’s glaciers...
Nigerian government seeks alignment of NDC climate action...
German court dismisses climate case against RWE
WHO Climate Change action plan approved
Report: World likely to breach 1.5°C limit in...
At Bonn climate talks, Brazil demands early deals...
Researchers warn Africa could face 113 million climate...
LAPO MfB launches tree-planting initiative to fight climate...
Stiell says new NDCs are about growth, antidote...
EcoNai Newsroom
  • Newsround
  • Nigeria
  • Africa
  • World
World

Study shows nearly 15% of Americans don’t believe climate change is real

by admineconai February 15, 2024
written by admineconai February 15, 2024
565

A new study undertaken by the University of Michigan reveals – shedding light on the highly polarized attitude toward global warming, has shown that nearly 15% of Americans don’t believe climate change is real.

Additionally, the study showed that denialism is highest in the central and southern US, with Republican voters found less likely to believe in climate science.

Using artificial intelligence, researchers who undertook the research, analyzed over 7.4m tweets posted by roughly 1.3 million people on the social media platform X (previously Twitter) between 2017 and 2019. The social media posts were geocoded, and classified as “for” or “against” climate change using a large language model, a type of artificial intelligence developed by OpenAI.

“Over half of the tweets we looked at simply denied that climate change was real, that it was a hoax,” said Joshua Newell, co-author of the study and professor of environment and sustainability at the University of Michigan. “It wasn’t surprising but it was disappointing, I would hope that more and more Americans would believe in climate change and the importance of addressing it.”

Read also: Intelligence boss: It is difficult to predict Australia-Tuvalu deal on climate change

According to reports, Donald Trump emerged as one of the most influential figures among climate change deniers. For instance, his tweets around a cold snap in Texas in December 2017, as well as his missives rejecting the 2018 IPCC report released at the Cop24 UN conference, were some of his most engaged social media posts among climate change deniers.

“Public figures such as Trump are highly influential,” Newell said, “when they use these events to trigger disbelief in climate change among social media users.”

The findings are consistent with similar studies, such as the recent survey out of Yale University which estimates that as of 2023, 16% of Americans do not believe in climate change (about 49 million people).

Acceptance and belief in global warming is most prevalent along the west and east coasts, correlating with those regions’ high rates of Democratic voters. Still, clusters of denialism exist within blue states, like in the case of Shasta county, California. There, disbelief in climate change is as high as 52%, but statewide, less than 12% of California’s population does not believe in global warming.

“It comports with my understanding that there is a small but very vocal and active minority of the public that still denies the overwhelming evidence of human-caused warming,” said Michael Mann, climatologist and geophysicist at the University of Pennsylvania, about the study.

Story was adapted from the Guardian.

0 comment 0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
admineconai

previous post
Intelligence boss: It is difficult to predict Australia-Tuvalu deal on climate change
next post
Scientists warn Amazon rainforest could reach ‘tipping point’ by 2050

Related Posts

Scientists say nearly 40% of the world’s glaciers...

June 3, 2025

German court dismisses climate case against RWE

May 28, 2025

WHO Climate Change action plan approved

May 28, 2025

Report: World likely to breach 1.5°C limit in...

May 28, 2025

At Bonn climate talks, Brazil demands early deals...

May 23, 2025

Guterres raises alarm over rapid Himalayan glacier melt

May 17, 2025

Study shows two-thirds of global warming caused by...

May 8, 2025

Weather expert warns climate change to hit agriculture...

May 5, 2025

Trump dismisses authors of major climate report

April 30, 2025

New UN report shows Indigenous Peoples sidelined in...

April 25, 2025

Leave a Comment Cancel Reply

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

Newsletter

Subscribe my Newsletter for new blog posts, tips & new photos. Let's stay updated!

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Linkedin
  • Bloglovin
  • Vimeo

@2021 - All Right Reserved. Designed and Developed by Eco-Nai+

EcoNai Newsroom
  • Newsround
  • Nigeria
  • Africa
  • World