A Study By The Pew Research Center Outlines The General Public’s Fears With Regards To Climate Change

A survey by the Pew Research Center reveals that climate change is considered the most prevalent major threat to our way of life by a majority of individuals across the globe.

Honestly, while I feel like people were already grappling with the potential ramifications that climate change would inflict upon their futures, it was 2020 that made the image click in everyone’s brains. Left mostly alone to our own devices, and with the internet constantly bombarding us with bad news, the oft-faraway concept of global warming became much more real. Just the mere concept that human life on this planet may be doomed much earlier than we’d expect is a heavy thought to process; much more debilitating is the fact that climate change in and of itself is entirely preventable, but can only be stopped in its tracks if politicians across the world restrict corporations from polluting. So, yeah: in short, there’s absolutely nothing that the average individual can do, and we’re all left to nihilistic ruminations about the uncertain future.

I wish I could be more optimistic about the future, but our late-stage capitalistic world hardly sets us up for any amount of hope. I’m not the only person who feels so bleak about the future; the Pew Research Center’s study reveals that a total of 75% of its sample population considers climate change a massive threat. The research’s population size was derived from a total of 19 countries, providing a wide variety of potential opinions. In the USA’s case, the wide variety of opinions was also effectively demarcated by political ideology. Specifically, while 78% of Democratic voters believe climate change to be a real, dangerous threat, only 23% of Republicans share similar sentiments. I’m not particularly surprised by this split, and denying climate change’s real effects isn’t even the most controversial opinion thrown by the voting party. Those are reserved for Sandy Hook (tiny side-note: anyone who isn’t following the trial of Alex Jones with regards to Sandy Hook should do so, it’s a riot).

Europe itself is a major believer in climate change and its ill effects, with opinions on the matter, have solidified over the past decade. Only 48% of all UK citizens in 2013 believed climate change to be a major threat; that number is now at the three-quarters mark. Ultimately, it should be stated that most countries do believe in an optimal outcome if governments band together, with Israel, Japan, and Greece being the only countries sharing my pessimism through a majority of their populations.

Read next: Climate Change is Making Summer Nights Too Hot for Survival, Scientists Say
by Arooj Ahmed via Digital Information World