Nicholas Goldberg: Americans don’t care about climate change. Here’s how to wake them up
With the world’s attention focused on climate change, you’d think people would be on the cutting edge of it. And indeed they are. But in much of America, they’re staying exactly where they are – and maybe worse.
If the climate problem is really of any concern, then you’d expect to see a major jump in the number of people who care about this issue.
But they’re not.
Instead, the public is more than willing to blame and judge those who are trying to raise the issue – and those who are trying to solve it – based on their politics.
If the problem of climate change is serious, then it can’t be solved if it’s kept a secret and the “solution” is to cut back everyone’s driving.
If the problem is truly serious, then it’s a problem that will require government action. And right now the Republicans in the White House and Congress are trying to put government in charge of the issue.
If the problem is serious, then it should be the government’s problem to address.
You’d expect that people would care more about the issue if the country was in the same predicament that much of America is – where the world is still burning in the summer, water is scarce, food is scarce, and governments are struggling to deal with chronic financial problems caused by the recession.
But in America, things aren’t that bad – and as a result the public remains largely unaware of even the most basic facts about climate change.
The public is largely unaware of the risks to their health and the damage it will do to their property and the environment.
The public is largely unaware of the risks to their health and the damage it will do to their property and the environment.
The public is largely unaware of the risks to their health and the damage it will do to their property and the environment.
The public is largely unaware of the risks to their health and the damage it will do to their property and the environment.
In short, the public in America – like the rest of the world – doesn’t care about climate change.
