Americans misunderstand their contribution to deteriorating environment

A global survey suggests 88 percent of people are worried about the state of nature.
Katie Surma, Inside Climate News - 9/7/2024, 6:16 AM

Most people are “very” or “extremely” concerned about the state of the natural world, a new global public opinion survey shows.

Roughly 70 percent of 22,000 people polled online earlier this year agreed that human activities were pushing the Earth past “tipping points,” thresholds beyond which nature cannot recover, like loss of the Amazon rainforest or collapse of the Atlantic Ocean’s currents. The same number of respondents said the world needs to reduce carbon emissions within the next decade.

Just under 40 percent of respondents said technological advances can solve environmental challenges.

The Global Commons survey, conducted for two collectives of “economic thinkers” and scientists known as Earth4All and the Global Commons Alliance, polled people across 22 countries, including low-, middle- and high-income nations. The survey’s stated aim was to assess public opinion about “societal transformations” and “planetary stewardship.”

The results, released Thursday, highlight that people living under diverse circumstances seem to share worries about the health of ecosystems and the environmental problems future generations will inherit.

More:
https://arstechnica.com/science/2024/09/americans-misunderstand-their-contribution-to-deteriorating-environment/