I had something else teed up to opine on for today’s Post, but since I am my own Editor and Publisher, I can turn on a dime and put out something entirely different than planned if I suddenly come across some info that causes me to write anew. That happened.
For those of you who have interest in genealogy, my last name Delurey is actually an Irish name, with my ancestors along that line (versus my English and German lines) having come to the U.S. from County Cork in the early 1800’s. I also spell my name DeLurie on Bastille Day and Deluri if I need to pretend that I am Italian on some occasion. 🙂
As signs of the impending green day appear, along comes another piece of fine work by the Yale Center for Climate Communications. And lo and behold it is about the people of Ireland and Climate Change. It happens that the Irish Government hired Yale to do an opinion survey of how its people think about climate change.
Ireland is just one country, and a small one at that. It is a member of the EU but again not one of the larger ones. But if you take the results of the Yale Survey as an example of how another modernized, industrialized country’s citizens look at and think about climate change and contrast it to how Americans answer the same questions, it perhaps helps one better understand how to think about how Americans think about climate.
Here are some of the things that jumped out at me:
- 80% of the Irish public agree with the statement “most scientists think climate change is happening.” Only 53% of Americans do.
- 95% of the Irish people think climate change is happening. By contrast, Yale found recently that only 72% of Americans think global warming is happening.
- 81% of the Irish populace are worried about climate change. 65% of Americans are.
- 78% of the Irish public discusses climate change occasionally or often with their families and friends. Only 35% of Americans do.
- 74% of the Irish people say they hear about climate change in the media “at least once a week.” Only 28% of Americans do.
- 79% of the Irish public says climate change should be a very high or high priority for the national government. 56% of registered U.S. voters say that.
Here are a few other nuggets, without the contrast to the U.S.:
– 74% of Irish people think acting on climate change will improve the quality of life in Ireland.
– Irish people who reported at least some difficulty making ends meet in the last 12 months gave the same levels of support to most climate action policies as those who have not experienced any difficulties making ends meet.
– Four in ten Irish people say they have punished companies that are opposing steps to reduce climate change by not buying their products one or more times in the last 12 months.
– 87% of people in Ireland say the country has a responsibility to act on climate change and should do what it can to reduce its own greenhouse emissions. In contrast, only 12% say Ireland is too small to make a difference on climate change and should let other countries take the lead.
– Nearly nine in ten people in Ireland (88%) think climate change is affecting the weather in Ireland, and 75% think extreme weather poses either a “high” or “moderate” risk to their community over the next 10 years.
– Nearly all Irish people think future generations of people (95%), people in developing countries (93%), and plant and animal species (92%) will be harmed “a great deal” or “a moderate amount” by climate change. 54% think that people in Ireland are being harmed “right now” by climate change, and 21% think that it will start to harm people in Ireland in the next 10 years.
– While still retaining majority backing, the support for prohibitive policies has weakened in 2023 compared to 2021. The overall proportion supporting bans on peat, coal and oil for home heating has decreased by nine percentage points to 59% since 2021, and overall support for higher taxes on cars that use petrol or diesel has decreased by 13 percentage points to 51%.
The first thing I want to say after seeing these numbers is …. Wow. Speaking as a climate communicator and educator, those are numbers I can only dream of us hitting in the U.S. in the foreseeable future.
I will say another thing, while noting that I don’t have any intimate knowledge or awareness of current Irish politics. It seems like climate is much less a politically divisive issue in Ireland than here in the U.S. Here it is a political football, and that translates into it being a policy football. Taking both together, a leading Presidential Candidate has promised to repeal the Inflation Reduction Act, which is the biggest single step the U.S. has ever taken towards climate mitigation.
Thirdly, why aren’t American’s discussing climate change with friends and family? Is it because of politics? Is it because of a social worry about bringing it up? It is because they don’t think they know enough to be comfortable raising the topic? It is because they think the people they talk to agree with them and thus it is not an issue?
Fourth, why are many Americans not hearing about climate change in the media they consume? Media coverage/mention of climate change has statistically increased on average, but the increase is far across from across the board. Is it strictly politics? Is it the decline of independent media in general? And what good does it do if the increase in media treatment and the increase in non-profit groups focused on climate education are basically “singing to the choir” type of efforts.
Finally (although I could raise many more) is the question of support for governmental policy. Most of the numbers for answers to climate-related questions in the U.S. are above 50%. This is especially the case on questions of moderate to high recognition at present and/or future impact from climate change. How do people expect climate change to be mitigated if not for government involvement? I believe in market innovation and competition, and I believe it will help solve our climate challenge, but in my opinion that won’t happen fast enough and comprehensively enough to meet the need. I also believe in government policy, and don’t see any way around deploying it if we are to tame the climate beast.
One of the famous stories from the early days on the Western Front in France during World War I is the Christmas Truce. On Christmas even in 1914, British and German soldiers came out of their trenches, exchanged gifts and photos of home, drank wine, and played impromptu soccer games in no-man’s land. This is a true story.
After the game, and as dawn approached, the soldiers bid each other goodbye and went back into their trenches. The generals, who had been caught by surprise by this happening, issued rules that it cannot happen again, or there would be charges of desertion and treason leveled against participants.
In the words of one of my favorite songs*, which I listen to every Christmas, the soldiers’ thoughts when back in their trenches are not kind ones regarding the generals. They had thoughts like “whose family do I now have in my sights?” and “on each end of the rifle we’re the same”.
There are many issues in the U.S. where it is understandable that Americans hold different views on various issues. But it is a shame that climate change is one of them. It is quite easy to understand it when it is explained, and likewise, the threats and impacts are quite easy to grasp when laid out.
Unfortunately, some of the Generals, and I include Corporate CEOs here, continue to mislead, misinform, and issue orders to their troops which are counter to their well-being, not to mention everyone else’s.
When it comes to the danger of climate change, we are all the same, and every family will be impacted. We must get out of our trenches and at least talk about it.
Dan
*The song I refer to is Christmas in the Trenches, by John McCutcheon. I listen to it every Christmas Eve while sitting next to the tree sipping my favorite Rye. But don’t wait for Christmas to check it out.
