United States adults in the 6 Americas, March 2012 (992 people surveyed by Yale/George Mason University)

How do our class data compare to the national data?

Alarmed

Concerned

Cautious

Disengaged

Doubtful

Dismissive

Highest Belief in Global WarmingMost ConcernedMost Motivated

Lowest Belief in Global WarmingLeast ConcernedLeast Motivated 10%

15%

6%

29%

26%

13%

Americans believe that climate change will be harmful to……

March 2012 data from Yale Project on Climate Change Communication

Plants and animals

Future generations of people

People in developing countries

People in the US

People in their community

People in their family

Themselves

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70

Percent of people who believe that climate change will be harmful to...

Do Americans believe that climate change is happening?

Data from Yale Project on Climate Change Communication

November 2011 March 20120

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

Climate change is happeningClimate change is not happening

Perc

ent o

f Peo

ple

Do Americans believe that climate change is caused mostly by humans?

March 2012 data from Yale Project on Climate Change Communication

November 2011 March 20120

10

20

30

40

50

60

Climate change is caused mostly by human activities

Climate change is not caused mostly by human activities

Perc

ent o

f Peo

ple

Mitigation Adaptation

Working to reduce Working to adjustthe severity of a to an unavoidableproblem/issue. problem/issue.

Example: the aging movie starFrom ages 20-35, the actress was offered many leading movie roles.

She continued auditioning for these roles, but starting around age 40, she noticed that she was being offered fewer and fewer leading roles.

She is now 50 years old and has not been offered a leading role in over 5 years. Her agent suspects that she is not being offered these parts because she looks older than the other younger actresses who are auditioning.

• What could the actress do to attempt to mitigate this situation?

• What could the actress do to attempt to adapt to this situation?

• What are the pros and cons of mitigation?• What are the pros and cons of adaptation?

Climate change mitigation: working to decrease greenhouse gas emissions in an attempt to reduce the severity of future climate change

Climate change adaptation: working to adjust to the unavoidable aspects of climate change that we are already experiencing and may experience in the future

Data from NOAA

Scientists believe that the number of 100 degree days per year will increase during the next century, depending on greenhouse gas emissions.

Lowering of floodplains

Lowering (excavating) an area of the floodplain increases the room for the river at high water levels.

Deepening summer bed

The river bed is deepened by excavating the surface layer of the river bed. The deepened river bed provides more room for the river.

Water storage The Volkerak-Zoommeer lake provides temporary water storage when exceptional conditions result in the combination of a closed storm surge barrier and high river discharges to the sea.

Dike relocation

Relocating a dike land inwards increases the width of the floodplains and provides more room for the river.

Lowering groynes

Groynes stabilize the location of the river and ensure that the river remains at the correct depth. However, at high water levels groynes can form an obstruction to the flow of water in the river. Lowering groynes increases the flow rate of the water in the river.

High water channel

A diked area that branches off from the main river to discharge some of the water via a separate route.

Depoldering The dike on the river side of a polder is relocated land inwards. The polder is depoldered and water can flood the area at high water levels.

Removing obstacles

Removing or modifying obstacles in the river bed where possible, or modifying them, increases the flow rate of the water in the river.

Strengthening dikes

Dikes are strengthened in areas where creating more room for the river is not an option.

Room for the River