Perceptible climate warming amplifies how education increases climate concern in the US
Abstract Among the strongest predictors of climate change awareness in the US, outside partisan filters, is education level. Here we show how, in the US, perceptible climate warming increased the effect that education has on climate concerns. Our interpretation is that education equips individuals w...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Nature Portfolio
2025-02-01
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| Series: | npj Climate Action |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s44168-025-00219-4 |
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| _version_ | 1823861503570214912 |
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| author | R. Alexander Bentley Benjamin D. Horne |
| author_facet | R. Alexander Bentley Benjamin D. Horne |
| author_sort | R. Alexander Bentley |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Among the strongest predictors of climate change awareness in the US, outside partisan filters, is education level. Here we show how, in the US, perceptible climate warming increased the effect that education has on climate concerns. Our interpretation is that education equips individuals with the ability to understand and contextualize observed climate changes. When individuals perceive warming, education enhances their capacity to connect these experiences to broader climate science, leading to greater concern. As a result, the more pronounced the local warming, the stronger the relationship between education and climate concern. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-c99092cce4a24dcf9beca0386bebbc8d |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2731-9814 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-02-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | npj Climate Action |
| spelling | doaj-art-c99092cce4a24dcf9beca0386bebbc8d2025-02-09T13:00:10ZengNature Portfolionpj Climate Action2731-98142025-02-01411510.1038/s44168-025-00219-4Perceptible climate warming amplifies how education increases climate concern in the USR. Alexander Bentley0Benjamin D. Horne1Anthropology Department, University of TennesseeCenter for the Dynamics of Social Complexity (DySoC), University of TennesseeAbstract Among the strongest predictors of climate change awareness in the US, outside partisan filters, is education level. Here we show how, in the US, perceptible climate warming increased the effect that education has on climate concerns. Our interpretation is that education equips individuals with the ability to understand and contextualize observed climate changes. When individuals perceive warming, education enhances their capacity to connect these experiences to broader climate science, leading to greater concern. As a result, the more pronounced the local warming, the stronger the relationship between education and climate concern.https://doi.org/10.1038/s44168-025-00219-4 |
| spellingShingle | R. Alexander Bentley Benjamin D. Horne Perceptible climate warming amplifies how education increases climate concern in the US npj Climate Action |
| title | Perceptible climate warming amplifies how education increases climate concern in the US |
| title_full | Perceptible climate warming amplifies how education increases climate concern in the US |
| title_fullStr | Perceptible climate warming amplifies how education increases climate concern in the US |
| title_full_unstemmed | Perceptible climate warming amplifies how education increases climate concern in the US |
| title_short | Perceptible climate warming amplifies how education increases climate concern in the US |
| title_sort | perceptible climate warming amplifies how education increases climate concern in the us |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s44168-025-00219-4 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT ralexanderbentley perceptibleclimatewarmingamplifieshoweducationincreasesclimateconcernintheus AT benjamindhorne perceptibleclimatewarmingamplifieshoweducationincreasesclimateconcernintheus |