Latest news with #YaleCenterforGeospatialSolutions
Axios
30-04-2025
- Climate
- Axios
Louisiana's climate anxiety, mapped
New Orleanians are stressed about climate change, recent estimates find. Why it matters: The rest of Louisiana isn't as anxious. The big picture: 74.1% of adults in New Orleans say they are "somewhat" or "very" worried about climate change, per estimates from the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication based on survey data. In Jefferson Parish, it's 64.3% of adults. The national average is 63.3%, with higher anxiety levels in coastal communities and large cities. The findings paint a stark picture of how attitudes toward climate change vary nationwide. Zoom in: About 53% of adults in Louisiana's coastal parishes, which face the brunt of hurricanes and coastal erosion, report feeling anxious about climate change. Cameron Parish had the lowest rate of concern (44.4%), with Jefferson Parish having the highest. Catch up quick: South Louisiana has endured one extreme weather event after another in recent years. Residents have dealt with saltwater intrusion, extreme drought, super fog, flooding, tornadoes and marsh fires. Hurricane Francine made landfall here last year, and the region was battered by Hurricane Ida in 2021. The historic snowfall was magical, but it was a nightmare for the region's infrastructure. What they're saying: While the map above may look like a sea of purple, "it's crucial to remind people that the vast majority of the population exists in some of these green places," says Jennifer Marlon, executive director of the Yale Center for Geospatial Solutions and senior research scientist at the Yale School of the Environment. Zoom out: A Gallup survey this month showed an uptick in the number of Southerners who have experienced an extreme weather event where they live, writes Axios' Andrew Freedman. 28% of respondents said they experienced a hurricane in the past two years, up from 18% in 2023, the survey showed. Climate change is projected to lead to more frequent occurrences of severe hurricanes (though not more frequent hurricanes overall) and is already showing a tie to increased instances of rapid intensification of storms. Climate change is also causing these massive storms to deliver more rainfall than they used to, leading to inland flooding disasters. How it works: The findings are based on statistical modeling using data from nationally representative Ipsos surveys. Between the lines: Individual attitudes about climate change are not based entirely (or perhaps even primarily) on local risk, with politics, education, and other factors playing big roles.
Axios
21-04-2025
- Climate
- Axios
Indiana's climate change anxiety
When it comes to climate change, a new study reveals that many Hoosiers outside of Indy aren't sweating it. The big picture: Climate anxiety is concentrated in many large U.S. metros and some coastal regions. About 63.3% of U.S. adults overall are "somewhat" or "very" worried about global warming as of 2024, per survey data from Yale Program on Climate Change Communication. The findings paint a stark picture of how attitudes toward climate change vary by location. Zoom in: Marion County residents are slightly more concerned about climate change than the national average, with a state-leading 66% of residents saying they are "somewhat" or "very" worried. Monroe is the only other Indiana county concerned about climate change at a rate higher than the national average at 65%. Residents in Boone (56%) and Hamilton (54%) counties are slightly less concerned. In 59 of Indiana's 92 counties, fewer than 50% of residents say they're worried about climate change. Zoom out: Some of the U.S. counties with especially high shares of adults worried about global warming — like Queens, New York (79.8%) — are coastal areas vulnerable to climate-driven threats like flooding. They also tend to be relatively populous, with 4 of the 10 most-worried counties having at least 1 million residents. Many major metro areas, like Columbus, Ohio, and Salt Lake City, Utah, also show up on the map above as pockets of relatively higher climate concern compared to surrounding areas. What they're saying: While the map above may look like a sea of purple, "it's crucial to remind people that the vast majority of the population exists in some of these green places," says Jennifer Marlon, executive director of the Yale Center for Geospatial Solutions and senior research scientist at the Yale School of the Environment. Between the lines: Individual attitudes about climate change are not based entirely (or perhaps even primarily) on local risk, with politics, education, and other factors playing big roles. Threat level: In Indiana, studies show that human-driven climate change is making rainstorms in Indianapolis more intense.
