“Global warming” versus “climate change”: A replication on the association between political self-identification,question wording,and environmental beliefs

Climate change is one of the greatest threats to humanity and requires immediate action. Schuldt, Konrath, and Schwarz (2011) suggested that beliefs in environmental phenomena can be influenced by the terminology used to describe it: changing question wording from global warming to climate change resulted in a 6.3 percentage point increase in belief in environmental phenomena. This association was moderated by political self-identification, with Republicans being 16.2 percentage points more likely to believe in climate change than in global warming, with Democrats showing no difference. The potential for connotative meanings to shift over time and the sociopolitical changes since the original study, potential policy and environmental campaign implications, and an expansion of these findings to other countries, motivated an attempt to replicate this important finding. This pre-registered study repeated the original procedures in the United States of America and two other countries (United Kingdom and Australia; total N = 5,717). Although question wording no longer had a significant effect on beliefs in climate change/global warming, the association of political self-identification with beliefs in environmental phenomena replicated in all three countries, with Conservatives consistently believing less in climate change/global warming than Liberals. The potential impacts of temporal and methodological differences on the discrepancies between this study's and the original's findings are discussed.     

“Global warming” versus “climate change”: A replication on the association between political self-identification,question wording,and environmental beliefs

Climate change is one of the greatest threats to humanity and requires immediate action. Schuldt, Konrath, and Schwarz (2011) suggested that beliefs in environmental phenomena can be influenced by the terminology used to describe it: changing question wording from global warming to climate change resulted in a 6.3 percentage point increase in belief in environmental phenomena. This association was moderated by political self-identification, with Republicans being 16.2 percentage points more likely to believe in climate change than in global warming, with Democrats showing no difference. The potential for connotative meanings to shift over time and the sociopolitical changes since the original study, potential policy and environmental campaign implications, and an expansion of these findings to other countries, motivated an attempt to replicate this important finding. This pre-registered study repeated the original procedures in the United States of America and two other countries (United Kingdom and Australia; total N = 5,717). Although question wording no longer had a significant effect on beliefs in climate change/global warming, the association of political self-identification with beliefs in environmental phenomena replicated in all three countries, with Conservatives consistently believing less in climate change/global warming than Liberals. The potential impacts of temporal and methodological differences on the discrepancies between this study's and the original's findings are discussed.     

“Global warming” versus “climate change”: A replication on the association between political self-identification,question wording,and environmental beliefs

Climate change is one of the greatest threats to humanity and requires immediate action. Schuldt, Konrath, and Schwarz (2011) suggested that beliefs in environmental phenomena can be influenced by the terminology used to describe it: changing question wording from global warming to climate change resulted in a 6.3 percentage point increase in belief in environmental phenomena. This association was moderated by political self-identification, with Republicans being 16.2 percentage points more likely to believe in climate change than in global warming, with Democrats showing no difference. The potential for connotative meanings to shift over time and the sociopolitical changes since the original study, potential policy and environmental campaign implications, and an expansion of these findings to other countries, motivated an attempt to replicate this important finding. This pre-registered study repeated the original procedures in the United States of America and two other countries (United Kingdom and Australia; total N = 5,717). Although question wording no longer had a significant effect on beliefs in climate change/global warming, the association of political self-identification with beliefs in environmental phenomena replicated in all three countries, with Conservatives consistently believing less in climate change/global warming than Liberals. The potential impacts of temporal and methodological differences on the discrepancies between this study's and the original's findings are discussed.     

“Global warming” versus “climate change”: A replication on the association between political self-identification,question wording,and environmental beliefs

Climate change is one of the greatest threats to humanity and requires immediate action. Schuldt, Konrath, and Schwarz (2011) suggested that beliefs in environmental phenomena can be influenced by the terminology used to describe it: changing question wording from global warming to climate change resulted in a 6.3 percentage point increase in belief in environmental phenomena. This association was moderated by political self-identification, with Republicans being 16.2 percentage points more likely to believe in climate change than in global warming, with Democrats showing no difference. The potential for connotative meanings to shift over time and the sociopolitical changes since the original study, potential policy and environmental campaign implications, and an expansion of these findings to other countries, motivated an attempt to replicate this important finding. This pre-registered study repeated the original procedures in the United States of America and two other countries (United Kingdom and Australia; total N = 5,717). Although question wording no longer had a significant effect on beliefs in climate change/global warming, the association of political self-identification with beliefs in environmental phenomena replicated in all three countries, with Conservatives consistently believing less in climate change/global warming than Liberals. The potential impacts of temporal and methodological differences on the discrepancies between this study's and the original's findings are discussed.     

“Global warming” versus “climate change”: A replication on the association between political self-identification,question wording,and environmental beliefs

Climate change is one of the greatest threats to humanity and requires immediate action. Schuldt, Konrath, and Schwarz (2011) suggested that beliefs in environmental phenomena can be influenced by the terminology used to describe it: changing question wording from global warming to climate change resulted in a 6.3 percentage point increase in belief in environmental phenomena. This association was moderated by political self-identification, with Republicans being 16.2 percentage points more likely to believe in climate change than in global warming, with Democrats showing no difference. The potential for connotative meanings to shift over time and the sociopolitical changes since the original study, potential policy and environmental campaign implications, and an expansion of these findings to other countries, motivated an attempt to replicate this important finding. This pre-registered study repeated the original procedures in the United States of America and two other countries (United Kingdom and Australia; total N = 5,717). Although question wording no longer had a significant effect on beliefs in climate change/global warming, the association of political self-identification with beliefs in environmental phenomena replicated in all three countries, with Conservatives consistently believing less in climate change/global warming than Liberals. The potential impacts of temporal and methodological differences on the discrepancies between this study's and the original's findings are discussed.     

“Global warming” versus “climate change”: A replication on the association between political self-identification,question wording,and environmental beliefs

Climate change is one of the greatest threats to humanity and requires immediate action. Schuldt, Konrath, and Schwarz (2011) suggested that beliefs in environmental phenomena can be influenced by the terminology used to describe it: changing question wording from global warming to climate change resulted in a 6.3 percentage point increase in belief in environmental phenomena. This association was moderated by political self-identification, with Republicans being 16.2 percentage points more likely to believe in climate change than in global warming, with Democrats showing no difference. The potential for connotative meanings to shift over time and the sociopolitical changes since the original study, potential policy and environmental campaign implications, and an expansion of these findings to other countries, motivated an attempt to replicate this important finding. This pre-registered study repeated the original procedures in the United States of America and two other countries (United Kingdom and Australia; total N = 5,717). Although question wording no longer had a significant effect on beliefs in climate change/global warming, the association of political self-identification with beliefs in environmental phenomena replicated in all three countries, with Conservatives consistently believing less in climate change/global warming than Liberals. The potential impacts of temporal and methodological differences on the discrepancies between this study's and the original's findings are discussed.     

A critical political ecology of consensus: On “Teaching Both Sides” of climate change controversies

In the United States, contemporary anti-science education coalitions are increasingly linking climate change and evolution using “teach the controversy” campaigns. Awareness of this political phenomena raises questions about the extent to which portrayals of global warming predictions as mere knowledge claims undermine efforts to increase public understanding of scientific consensus about global warming. This paper uses a critical political ecology framework to explore the problematization of climate change consensus located and performed across discourses of secondary science teaching and learning. Theories of resistance are used to analyze teachers’ everyday experiences with classroom pushback about climate change. Data collection included key informant interviews with state science education stakeholders and on-line survey of 5th–12th grade science teachers in Oklahoma, USA. The article synthesizes the situated discourses of Oklahoma science teachers’ and their attitudes about teaching climate change in the face of public controversy. Our analysis demonstrates teachers marginalized by anti-science controversies but engaged in everyday acts of resistance to political, ideological, and religious norms. Most notably, science teachers re-purpose “teach the controversy” frames as a way to introduce climate change where it might not otherwise be included. We argue that, contextualized within a history of contestation over the teaching of evolution, the practice of teaching ‘both sides’ is an important boundary ordering device that bridges convinced and skeptical discourses in the classroom. This research informs new roles and possibilities for science education on global environmental change by reminding climate scientists, educators, and policy advocates that all climate change knowledge is coproduced.     

Effects of climate change on relationship between water and salts of waters ecosystems in arid zone, China

The process of salinization has increased dramatically over the past several decades in the northwest arid zone of China. Soil salinization has been recognized as a major environmental problem for many years in the Tarim River Basin. It is the key issue of solving the soil salinization problem to study interaction between water and salt in arid zone, which will provide useful principle and methodology to its solution. Taking Tarim River and Bosten Lake for example, by systematically collecting the basic data of hydrogeology, meteorology, and social economy, we analyzed the interaction of water and salt of Tarim River and Bostan Lake in natural and artificial conditions in aspects of basins, oases, lakes and marshes. The results showed that： （1） Temperature and precipitation are both increasing gradually in the whole Tarim River Basin, the climate tends to be come warmer and wetter, but the water quality condition is not optimistic; （2） At the end of the 1950s, mineralization degree was less than 1.0 g/L from the upper reaches to the lower reaches of the Tarim River. At present, it is more than 3.0 g/L in Alaer Lake （the upper reaches of the Tarim River） except in July, August and October, during which it is less than 1.0 g/L. In Qiala （the lower reaches）, it is more than 1.0 g/L except in March, moreover, it is about 5.0 g/L in July and December. The eco-water conveyance project implementation has still not improved Tarim River＇s water quality condition; （3） Bostan Lake was a tiny salt-water lake in the late 1950s, but the water-soil development of the oasis has aggravated the salinization in recent thirty years. Since the West Pumping Station was brought into operation in 1982, the Bostan Lake which accumulated salt has begun to be desalted. We consider that climate may not be the key factor for salinization in this area. Instead, socio-economic factors relevant to human activities should be mainly responsible for such changes, as is confirmed by our further analysis. In order to improve present situation of water-soil salinization, water resources utilization and management should be strengthened, highly efficient and water-saving irrigating technology should be spread,     

Satellite monitoring of spatio-temporal dynamics of China’s coastal zone eco-environments: preliminary analysis on the relationship between the environment,climate change and human behavior

In this paper, temporal dynamics of eco-environmental changes in coastal areas of China during 1981–2000 are investigated based on four key surface parameters including normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), thermal index, moisture index and surface broadband albedo derived from quantitative remote sensing techniques and meteorological data. Firstly, land surface temperature (LST) and land surface broadband albedo are retrieved by the split-window algorithms and high-order polynomial regression method, respectively, using NOAA/AVHRR series images. Then, moisture index and thermal index, indicators of climate and moisture conditions in the study area, are computed from meteorological data and LST using principal component analysis (PCA). Finally, long-term dynamics of these eco-environmental factors and the reasons responsible for these changes are analyzed further. The results show that during the years from 1981 to 2000, the study area experienced a gradual increase in annual NDVI and climate factors and a decrease in surface annual broadband albedo, which indicates that the coastal thermal and moisture conditions and the subsistence conditions of natural vegetation have changed to a considerable extent. According to the results, a warming and wetting tendency over the last two decades is obvious in the China’s coastal zone that are mainly due to land use changes as of growing urbanization, exhaust emissions from industries and transportations and, partly global climate change. Uncontrolled rapid development of the study area may be blamed for these negative changes as a major driving force. The positive feedback mechanisms between albedo, NDVI and climate factors also partly explain these changes. This study suggests that the method integrating biophysical parameters retrieved from remote sensed images and meteorologic data provides a novel and feasible way to monitor large scale eco-environmental changes.

A commentary on climate change, stone decay dynamics and the ‘greening’ of natural stone buildings: new perspectives on ‘deep wetting’

Environmental controls on stone decay processes are rapidly changing as a result of changing climate. UKCP09 projections for the 2020s (2010–2039) indicate that over much of the UK seasonality of precipitation will increase. Summer dryness and winter wetness are both set to increase, the latter linked to projected precipitation increases in autumn and spring months. If so, this could increase the time that stone structures remain wet and possibly the depth of moisture penetration, and it appears that building stone in Northern Ireland has already responded through an increased incidence of algal ‘greening’. This paper highlights the need for understanding the effects of climate change through a series of studies of largely sandstone structures. Current and projected climatic trends are therefore considered to have aesthetic, physical and chemical implications that are not currently built into our models of sandstone decay, especially with respect to the role played by deep-seated wetness on sandstone deterioration and decay progression and the feedbacks associated with, for example surface algal growth. In particular, it is proposed that algal biofilms will aid moisture retention and further facilitate moisture and dissolved salt penetration to depth. Thus, whilst the outer surface of stone may continue to experience frequent wetting and drying associated with individual precipitation events, the latter is less likely to be complete, and the interiors of building blocks may only experience wetting/drying in response to seasonal cycling. A possible consequence of deeper salt penetration could be a delay in the onset of surface deterioration, but more rapid and effective retreat once it commences as decay mechanisms ‘tap into a reservoir of deep salt’.     

China’s huge investment on water facilities: an effective adaptation to climate change, natural disasters, and food security

China’s huge investment on water infrastructure for sustainable water use, followed by recently frequent natural disasters, caused worldwide concerns, i.e., continuously published by Nature and Science. Most researchers emphasized challenges on this investment; yet, we argue that the 2011-plan, targeting reservoirs, wells, irrigation systems, inter-basin water transfer projects, is the most effective adaptation to climate change, drought and flooding, as well as food security. This provides a good case of water management and development, particularly for the current uneven water resources and food security by climate change.     

Wake up “boiling frogs”: a study on animal husbandry under climate change in Northern China

The development of animal husbandry in China is facing enormous pressure from increasing demand of meat consumption, climate change, degrading grassland, and changing national policies. This paper presents the latest findings from an anthropological field investigation interviewing local herders, traders, and local officials from farming–pastoral ecotone in Inner Mongolia and shed lights on how locals have adapted their lives to climate change and the new national husbandry policies of the twenty-first century. Based on the anthropological interviews, we discussed the future opportunities and challenges of animal husbandry development in farming–pastoral ecotone. Results suggested that national ecological conservation policies and meat price have much larger impacts on animal husbandry than climate change, as perceived by locals. Family Fencing Policy, a relatively new policy aiming to avoid overgrazing and restore vegetation, was neither well accepted nor well implemented by the local herders. This is partially explained by the poor fencing technology, insufficient support facilities, as well as the high costs and low-profit margins in the animal husbandry. We conclude by suggesting that pastoralism in Northern China may greatly benefit from the development of rural cooperatives and active participation of locals in policy designing and implementation.     

A 180 ka record of environmental change at Erdut (Croatia): a new chronology for the loess–palaeosol sequence and its implications for environmental interpretation

While there are numerous thick loess–palaeosol sequences preserved across the Carpathian Basin, well dated sites that provide terrestrial palaeoenvironmental records extending beyond last glacial–interglacial cycle are scarce. Robust chronologies are essential for correlations of loess with other long-term Quaternary records and to further understanding of the palaeoenvironment and climate of this important region beyond the last 125 ka. Here a new geochronology based on 13 post-infrared infrared stimulated luminescence ages focused on the lower part of the loess–palaeosol sequence at Erdut is presented. The results show that the lower part of the Erdut profile spans the penultimate glacial cycle (MIS 7 to MIS 5). The considerable sediments overlaying the investigated part of the profile suggest that this section spans two glacial cycles, rather than the previously suggested one. The most likely source of the discrepancy is the use of uncorrected infrared stimulated luminescence signal, which can cause age underestimation if not accounted for. This study demonstrates the need to revisit sites such as Erdut, re-date them using updated measurement protocols, and update existing palaeoenvironmental interpretations.     

Farmers’ assessments of private adaptive measures to climate change and influential factors: a study in the Mekong Delta,Vietnam

Adaptation to climate change in agricultural settings depends on understanding farmers’ perceptions of the nature of climate change, their agency in adapting and the efficacy of adaptive measures themselves. Such knowledge can improve mitigation and adaptation strategies. This study addresses the limited understanding of how farmers appraise their private adaptive measures and influential factors. It uses data from structured interviews with 598 rice farmers in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam. Based on protection motivation theory, farmers’ assessments of private adaptive measures were measured by perceived self-efficacy, perceived adaptation efficacy and perceived adaptation cost. Multiple regressions were used to understand significant factors affecting those assessments. Some demographic and socio-economic factors, belief in climate change, information and objective resources were found to influence farmers’ adaptation assessments. It is shown that the sources and quality of information are particularly important. The improvement of both the accessibility and usefulness of local services (e.g. irrigation, agricultural extension, credit and health care) is deemed a necessity for successful adaptation strategies in the Mekong Delta. The paper also shows the application of PMT in measuring farmers’ appraisals of private adaptive measures to climate change, thereby opening this area for further research.     

A preliminary magnetic study on lacustrine sediments from Zoigê Basin,eastern Tibetan Plateau,China: Magnetostratigraphy and environmental implications

A preliminary magnetic study was conducted on Core RM (310 m long), drilled in the Zoigê Basin (33 °57′N, 102 °21′E), on the eastern Tibetan Plateau. Greigite in SD state exists as a main magnetic contributor along the whole core. In addition, magnetite and haematite are detected between 160-45 m. NRM directions show a complex record with many apparent changes in inclination, for which greigite or the remanence acquisition process may be responsible. Nevertheless, the Matuyama/Brunhes boundary and, possibly, the Blake Event are identified. Between 310 and 160 m (as well as between 45 and 4.5 m), predominant anoxic conditions favour the formation of greigite, leading to higher susceptibility (χ) and remanence peaks. However, higher carbonate content during dry periods in these zones, may dilute the concentration of magnetic minerals, resulting in lower values of magnetic parameters. Between 160 and 45 m, weak oxic conditions preserve detrital magnetic minerals. The increasing χ background in this zone may indicate changes in the concentration of magnetite and haematite related to the uplift of the Tibetan Plateau, while higher χ peaks may indicate fluctuations to anoxic conditions, which enhance greigite concentration.     

A Hundred Years of the “Living Matter” Concept: Its Amount,Quality, and Distribution in the Ocean

Doklady Earth Sciences - The paper discusses advances and failures in solving the problems posed by V.I. Vernadsky 100 years ago. The quantity and quality of “living matter” along with...