“Can you pass this basic climate change quiz?”
Apparently not.
With the Paris 2015 UN climate change conference coming up, “now is a good time to test your knowledge of climate change” with this Buzzfeed quiz— because according to a 2010 Yale study, “63 percent of Americans believe that global warming is happening, but many do not understand why.” Though 45 percent of Americans say that they are “not very” or “not at all” worried about global warming, most of the people tested recognized their own lack of knowledge and agreed that they needed more information.
The first question on the Yale survey asked people if they “think that global warming is happening” after giving a brief overview of the issue; as discussed in class, people are more likely to disagree or be unsure when asked about their belief in climate change, than when asked in a way that presents the issues as simple “yes or no” facts. Other studies have been done looking at how people might discount the science behind climate change: people tend to evaluate the risks of global warming in ways that go along with the values or positions they already hold, termed the “cultural cognition of risk [and] of scientific consensus” — the social groups that an individual belongs to affect how they view climate change. So are there ways to educate people about the climate as the topic becomes (in some ways) increasingly politicized? Along with the school classroom and various media, you can start by taking this quiz; maybe you’ll do better than the 52% of study participants who scored an “F.”
This is fun (and depressing). We should do this all together in class on Monday! Did you take the quiz Lora? How did you do?
I took the quiz and I thought that I would do better than I did. It’s really amazing how little people know about what is going on and the facts of the situation. I was thinking the same thing about publicizing the facts and educating as many as possible on the outcomes of our collective actions. There are so many misconceptions out there and I agree with you that the media is a great way to change those thoughts. The classroom obviously is a crucial way for educating people. Hopefully one day climate change will be taught in schools and kids will go pass on the knowledge to their parents. Right now I am going to share this quiz with my family. Let’s see who really knows about climate change!
How did your family do Norma?
Well, that was interesting! Those questions were very specific!! I got a C, but if I had taken this quiz before this class I would probably have gotten an F. I think that this really highlights the fact that America needs better environmental education, especially in terms of climate change. Thank you for sharing!
I think a C is better than a large percentage of the population though, no?
I liked taking your quiz Lora, it was a fun post to put on the blog. I think when i took the quiz i was unsure of a response so I guessed and I ended up getting a B. I was happy in the end since my guessing on some of the questions was based on what i thought the answer would probably be, and I ended up being correct half the time.