WHAT DO PEOPLE KNOW ABOUT GLOBAL CLIMATE-CHANGE .2. SURVEY STUDIES OFEDUCATED LAYPEOPLE

Drawing on results from earlier studies that used open-ended interview s, a questionnaire was developed to examine laypeople's knowledge abou t the possible causes and effects of global warming, as well as the li kely efficacy of possible interventions. It was administered to two we ll-educated opportunity samples of laypeople. Subjects had a poor appr eciation of the facts that (1) if significant global warming occurs, i t will be primarily the result of an increase in the concentration of carbon dioxide in the earth's atmosphere, and (2) the single most impo rtant source of additional carbon dioxide is the combustion of fossil fuels, most notably coal and oil. In addition, their understanding of the climate issue was encumbered with secondary, irrelevant, and incor rect beliefs. Of these, the two most critical are confusion with the p roblems of stratospheric ozone and difficulty in differentiating betwe en causes and actions specific to climate and more general good enviro nmental practice.