Driving Climate Change

underlying mechanisms that lead to climate change. In the absence of a firm

grasp of the facts, there is a wide range of cognitive biases that plague indi-

vidual assessment, and complicated technical problems are especially prone

to such biases (Kahneman, Slovic, and Tversky, 1982).

In turn, basic understanding does not imply clear opinions on associ-

ated policies. A scientist or technologist steeped in technical details, for

example, might well be indifferent with regard to which specific policies

are enacted. By the same token, ignorance does not preclude strong opin-

ions. More generally, positive or negative views do not reveal the strength

of those views. Strong opinions do not necessarily translate into political

support, nor does affiliation with a political party necessarily imply support

for their party’s position on every issue. Next, general views do not always

translate into support for specific action, particularly those that will have

a direct personal or local impact. Finally, opinion need not translate into

individual actions or active political support that might move a policy

forward. It is these missing links in the chain linking public understanding

with public policy that will be explored by drawing upon public opinion

results in the areas of science and technology, energy, and the environment.

Applied to the question of energy choices and their interaction with

climate change policy, one might expect that some disconnects are severe.

Public attention to both science and technology and to environmental

issues is relatively low. Moreover, the underlying scientific evidence for

climate change that would motivate action has been contested, at least in

the United States, leading to further uncertainty. Possible solutions to the

climate problem are often of a technical nature and themselves subject to

considerable confusion. Translating those imperfect understandings into

opinions can be affected both by political affiliation and personal interests.

The environment has become a partisan issue in the United States that can

then impact perceptions and attitudes. Even the term environmentalist has

become laden with different meanings, with diverse implications for atti-

tudes and policy choices. Many environmental issues also come with their

own set of local and personal repercussions, such as siting of facilities or

impacts on individual behavior. Finally, there may still be notable differ-

ences between the public’s preferences and the choices made by their

elected representatives.

Establishing the links between understanding and policy choice has to

date been imperfect at best. Any inquiry, therefore, must rely on incom-

plete evidence. Probing these links is vital, however, to producing a richer

appreciation of how the public can influence policy debates and, equally, to

understanding how ongoing policy debates might influence the public.

Public Awareness

There is a relatively small informed audience for many policy questions.

Researchers have concluded that less than one-fifth of U.S. residents meet

202 Driving Climate Change