America, the home of Al Gore and one of the large nations which has become environmentally conscious, is full of people who do not understand pollution or its effects at all. The Yale Project on Climate Change Communication found in a recent study of 2030 adults taken between June 24 and July 22 that “found that 63 percent of Americans believe that global warming is happening, but many do not understand why.” US citizens seem to know no more about why the environment is in trouble than they do about why the nation runs large deficits.

In this assessment, only 8 percent of Americans have knowledge equivalent to an A or B, 40 percent would receive a C or D, and 52 percent would get an F. The study also found important gaps in knowledge and common misconceptions about climate change and the earth system. These misconceptions lead some people to doubt that global warming is happening or that human activities are a major contributor, to misunderstand the causes and therefore the solutions, and to be unaware of the risks

The grades are done the same way as in most education systems. Those with a “A ” are in the top 10%. Those who receive “F” grades are in the bottom 59%. Only 1% of those who were part of the poll received an “A”, which underscores people’s profound ignorance about the environment.

One of the examples that the study used to show how horribly uneducated Americans are is that large numbers of people incorrectly think that the hole in the ozone layer and aerosol spray cans contribute to global warming, leading many to incorrectly conclude that banning aerosol spray cans or stopping rockets from punching holes in the ozone layer are viable solutions.

The intellectuals at Yale have no reason to be surprised. There is nothing from basic physics to auto mechanics that most Americans understand well because there is no reason in their own minds to understand them. Many people who live in the United States know more about baseball statistics than greenhouse gases. While 87% of Americans have heard of the problem, only 13% understand what the term means.

Those who create surveys that show how little Americans know about things that they should know about rarely have much of a solution about how to close the knowledge gaps. The fact of the matter is that people who live in the United States will learn more about the environment when the ocean laps at their doors in Ohio or because some organization wants to spend billions of dollars to market green knowledge to them the way that consumer products companies peddle soap or laundry detergent.

Americans have their heads littered with information already, a by-product of the fact that people can only absorb so much and that the internet has already overloaded them.

The environment is in deep trouble. It is hard to say whether it is important for people to understand the problem for it to be addressed. People can go along with solutions to what they perceive to be important issues even if they do not understand them. Education, in the case of the environment, may be overrated.

Douglas A. McIntyre

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