US EditionWhich choices contribute most to climate change? Most people miss the mark, one study found
- A recent National Academy of Sciences study found many Americans misjudge how personal choices contribute to climate change.
- Experts attribute this misjudgment to marketing emphasis on low-impact actions like recycling rather than high-impact behaviors such as flying or eating meat.
- The study highlights that skipping a round-trip flight, which emits over 1,300 pounds of CO2 per passenger, matches or exceeds carbon savings from avoiding meat or living car-free for months.
- Madalina Vlasceanu said people “over-assign impact to low-impact actions” like recycling and underestimate flying’s carbon footprint, while Brenda Ekwurzel noted deliberate confusion supports outdated policies.
- The findings suggest improving public access to clear information could better align behavior with impactful climate actions and policy reforms.
53 Articles
53 Articles
People often miscalculate the impact of climate choices — like owning a dog — study says
According to a recent study, it turns out many people aren't great at identifying which personal decisions contribute most to climate change — and the some of the ones that do, such as owning a pet dog, may come as a surprise.
‘People often make wrong climate choices, a study says. One surprise is owning a dog’ – ‘Dogs are big meat eaters, & meat is a significant contributor to climate change’
By The Associated Press It turns out many Americans aren’t great at identifying which personal decisions contribute most to climate change. A study recently published by the National Academy of Sci…
It turns out that many Americans aren't good at identifying which personal choices contribute most to climate change.
Study: Americans often miscalculate good, bad climate choices
By CALEIGH WELLS It turns out many Americans aren’t great at identifying which personal decisions contribute most to climate change. A study recently published by the National Academy of Sciences found that when asked to rank actions, such as swapping a car that uses gasoline for an electric one, carpooling or reducing food waste, participants weren’t very accurate when assessing how much those actions contributed to climate change, which is cau…
Ottumwa Courier
People often miscalculate climate choices, a study says. One surprise is owning a dog
It turns out many Americans misjudge which personal behaviors contribute most to climate change. For example, a recent study by the National Academy of Sciences found that Americans overestimate the benefit of a smaller action like recycling and underestimate the…
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