Geographical Insights on the Partisan Polarization of the Acceptance of Human-Caused Climate Change in the US

IF 0.6 Q3 GEOGRAPHY

Southeastern Geographer Pub Date : 2023-05-19 DOI:10.1353/sgo.2023.0012

Johnathan W. Sugg, C. Weir

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Abstract

abstract:Despite political partisanship, growing segments of the American public are concerned and even alarmed about climate change. Yet a common finding in the research literature is that climate change beliefs are filtered through an ideological lens. In this study, we examine whether politics remain a reliable indicator of climate change belief by comparing the percent margin of victory for both parties in the last four Presidential elections with the estimated percentage who think global warming is mostly caused by human activities in each county. There were increasing positive trends between the Democratic margin of victory and the acceptance of human-caused climate change. However, this effect was different for counties with different types of climate change beliefs. Election results were less reliable indicators of the acceptance of human-caused climate change in Republican-voting counties until the two most recent general elections in 2016 and 2020. The results underscore the partisanship of climate politics at the national level. Using the southeastern US as an example, this study highlights the need to understand the regional variability of climate change beliefs as an important step in finding less polarizing climate solutions.

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对美国接受人为气候变化的党派两极分化的地理见解

摘要：尽管存在政治党派之争，但越来越多的美国公众对气候变化感到担忧甚至担忧。然而，研究文献中的一个常见发现是，气候变化信念是通过意识形态的视角过滤出来的。在这项研究中，我们通过比较两党在过去四次总统选举中获胜的百分比与认为全球变暖主要由每个县的人类活动引起的估计百分比，来检验政治是否仍然是气候变化信念的可靠指标。在民主党的胜利优势和对人为气候变化的接受之间，出现了越来越积极的趋势。然而，对于具有不同类型气候变化信念的县来说，这种影响是不同的。直到2016年和2020年的两次大选，选举结果才是共和党投票县接受人为气候变化的可靠指标。研究结果突显了国家层面气候政治的党派之争。以美国东南部为例，这项研究强调了了解气候变化信念的区域可变性的必要性，这是寻找不那么两极分化的气候解决方案的重要一步。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Southeastern Geographer GEOGRAPHY-

CiteScore

1.10

自引率

14.30%

发文量

期刊介绍： The Southeastern Geographer is a biannual publication of the Southeastern Division of Association of American Geographers. The journal has published the academic work of geographers and other social and physical scientists since 1961. Peer-reviewed articles and essays are published along with book reviews, organization and conference reports, and commentaries. The journal welcomes manuscripts on any geographical subject as long as it reflects sound scholarship and contains significant contributions to geographical understanding.