MA Residents Chime in on Climate Change

Waltham Watch Company Factory. Waltham Is One of 35 Manufacturing Cities and Towns on the Charles River 03/1973 by The U.S. National Archives

The Boston Globe recently reported on an important issue: the perception of the threat of climate change by Massachusetts residents.  While the article pointed out that a majority of Massachusetts residents believe climate change is happening – and is caused by human activity – the article also pointed out that many residents remain apathetic on how to address the problem. The MassInc survey, entitled “The 80 Percent Challenge: A Survey of Climate Change Opinion and Action in Massachusetts” was sponsored by the Barr Foundation.

Interestingly, the survey, found that 77% of those surveyed say climate change has probably been happening and 33% believe climate change is very serious and is caused at least partially by human activity. Another 26%, however, believe climate change is real and caused somewhat by humans, yet do not view it as a serious threat.  In addition, 24% of residents are unsure climate change is real, or believe it is driven by natural causes, while another 17% say they do not believe climate change is real.  Nonetheless, 56% of residents said the federal government should do more to address the issue and 47% said state government should. The survey also broke down responses by demographic and income.

Ben Forman, research director at MassInc, stated that “In order to meet the … state target of 80% reduction of greenhouse gases by 2050 … there will need to be a far greater sense of concern on the part of Massachusetts residents … what is needed in Massachusetts is a real culture of climate protection that fosters action across all sectors of our Commonwealth.”

While Massachusetts remains one of the more progressive states on the topic of climate change, sadly, the U.S. as a whole lags far behind many other countries that consider climate change a real and immediate concern. With this in mind, it’s important to learn all the facts and understand the bigger picture, especially considering the broad, oftentimes overwhelming scope of climate change. What we can do, no matter what, is be aware, be frugal in our energy and water useage and partake in public transit options and car-share options as much as possible.  Whether you believe climate change is real, or not, it’s happening all around us and now’s the time to take a positive stand and alter our behavior accordingly.  I, for one, would like to live on a prosperous, stable planet.  It’s the only one we’ve got!

This entry was posted in Massachusetts, Media, Other, Politics & Policy by Tara Holmes. Bookmark the permalink.

About Tara Holmes

Tara lives in San Francisco (but hails from Massachusetts). She is passionate about environmental conservation and increasing public awareness of environmental issues. Tara received a BA from Connecticut College and an MPA with a concentration in environmental policy from The Maxwell School of Syracuse University. She tends to focus on politics and business, but also touches on behavior. Tara has worked at the World Resources Institute, the MA Department of Energy Resources and spent summer 2010 working on UN-REDD research and policy in Paris, France for ONF International. She is currently involved with SF Environment, Friends of the Urban Forest and sits on the Board of Directors for Randall Museum Friends in San Francisco. She enjoys being outdoors as much as possible! Twitter: @tmhol. Personal Blog: http://taraholmes.wordpress.com/ In addition to the posts listed by clicking her username above, she also contributed to the post Whitehouse goes solar!

2 thoughts on “MA Residents Chime in on Climate Change

  1. Thanks for posting this Tara. It is another important reminder that we have work to do in engaging people on climate change here in Mass.

    MassInc is hosting a panel discussion on the topic of this new poll at City Year HQ in Boston Thursday May 19th from 5:00-6:30pm. I will be speaking along with four other panelists from business, academia, and political backgrounds. I will be talking largely about youth and citizen movements in MA and nationwide focused on climate action. Hopefully people can turn out for this event.

    http://www.massinc.org/Events/2011/05/Climate-change-event.aspx

    Let me know if you have ideas for what you’d like to hear in this discussion..

    • Hey Josh,

      Glad you enjoyed the post and thanks for commenting! I have been traveling out west and am just back in Cambridge. So sorry to miss your panel discussion as it sounded quite interesting. How did it go, out of curiosity?

      Keep following Warm Home Cool Planet!

      Cheers,
      Tara

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