Hunch users weigh in on global warming
The UN climate change conference in Copenhagen is heading into its last few days, with significant debate continuing between developed and developing nations, and between climate change believers and skeptics. We thought we’d take a quick look at how Hunch users weigh in on their concerns on this issue.
More than 47,000 Hunch users have answered the Teach Hunch About You question “What do you think about global warming?“ Results were as follows:
Nearly half of Hunch users find global warming extremely concerning
Nearly half of all Hunch users think global warming is a cause of great concern, with another quarter finding it concerning but manageable. 28% find it a “potential issue” or an outright scam. Let’s take this one step deeper to see how the results vary by where Hunchers live, how old they are, or their political ideology.
By geography
North Americans are the most skeptical group, with the smallest percentage (42%) claiming great concern about global warming, and the highest percentage (13%) considering it an “overblown scam”. South American Hunchers are the most concerned group, with a full 80% believing that global warming is a “grave” or “serious but manageable” concern.
North Americans are least likely to be extremely concerned; South Americans are most likely to be extremely concerned.
By age
You might think that concern about global warming would increase among younger people. That’s true to an extent, but not completely. For Hunchers, concern actually peaks among 35-49 year olds and then falls off among both older and younger people.
Concern about global warming peaks among 35-49 year olds and trails off for older and younger people
By political ideology
You’ll probably find it logical that liberals are more concerned about global warming than conservatives. But the extent of the difference might surprise you. Turns out that liberals are nearly 5 times as likely to find global warming a “grave concern”, and conservatives are more than 13 times as likely to find it an “overblown scam”.
A whopping 41% of conservative Hunch users consider global warming an "overblown scam"
Whatever the outcome of this week’s climate change conference, the polarizing differences in opinion about climate change are sure to stir continued heated debate.
