Article Type:
Opinion

Most Americans Want to Learn More about Climate Change

David Perkins Center for Climate Change Communication, George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia

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Ed Maibach Center for Climate Change Communication, George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia

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Ned Gardiner NOAA Climate Program Office, Silver Spring, Maryland

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Joe Witte ADNET/NASA-Goddard, Bethesda, Maryland

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Bud Ward Yale Project on Climate Change Communication, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut

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Bernadette Woods Placky Climate Central, Princeton, New Jersey

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Keith Seitter American Meteorological Society, Boston, Massachusetts

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Heidi Cullen Climate Central, Princeton, New Jersey

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Print Publication:
01 Jun 2017
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1175/BAMS-D-16-0097.1
Page(s):
1103–1107
Restricted access

Abstract

As American Meteorological Society (AMS) members who study Americans’ understanding of climate change and who are engaged in programs to educate Americans about climate change, we want our AMS colleagues to realize their key role in public education. In this article we make the case that 1) AMS members are well positioned to play important leadership roles in educational outreach on climate change, 2) the public wants to learn more about climate change, 3) there is a need for more effective public engagement efforts, and 4) we have successful outreach and educational models that we can start using today.

© 2017 American Meteorological Society. For information regarding reuse of this content and general copyright information, consult the AMS Copyright Policy (www.ametsoc.org/PUBSReuseLicenses).

CORRESPONDING AUTHOR: David Perkins, dperkin6@gmu.edu

Abstract

As American Meteorological Society (AMS) members who study Americans’ understanding of climate change and who are engaged in programs to educate Americans about climate change, we want our AMS colleagues to realize their key role in public education. In this article we make the case that 1) AMS members are well positioned to play important leadership roles in educational outreach on climate change, 2) the public wants to learn more about climate change, 3) there is a need for more effective public engagement efforts, and 4) we have successful outreach and educational models that we can start using today.

© 2017 American Meteorological Society. For information regarding reuse of this content and general copyright information, consult the AMS Copyright Policy (www.ametsoc.org/PUBSReuseLicenses).

CORRESPONDING AUTHOR: David Perkins, dperkin6@gmu.edu
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Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society

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