The world is getting warmer. The earth is experiencing rapid climate change, and it is only going to get more extreme if nothing is done to try to correct it. For a long time, I had found very few people who believed any differently. Then, as I got older, I realized just how divisive this subject really is. In 2008, only “79% of Americans believed that global warming was occurring” (1). Climate change is a highly volatile subject, especially today, with our current administration keeping the Environmental Protection Agency in limbo, while most of the developed world continues in their efforts to stop climate change. The truth is, in 2010, between 69% and 75% of Americans believed that climate change was occurring (1).

This opposition to the existence of climate change was something I was shocked to discover. Now, I’ve learned there are large pockets of the country where, in the eyes of certain communities, the existence of climate change is much more radical to defend than it is to deny. Studies being done in these areas of the country can be very helpful in discovering the beliefs of all Americans, not just the ones that are easily accessible.

A study was conducted in rural Nevada to collect data on the population’s opinions of climate change, as well as their support of government policies surrounding it. The study also focused on the potential for differing opinions between the ranchers/farmers, and the Native Americans in the areas. The study also sought to understand the reasoning for the differences in beliefs between the two groups through multiple sources. Most of the information was gathered in the form of surveys.

The first factor that was accounted for was the difference in the political affiliation of the ranchers/farmers and Native Americans. Results of this study show that 73% of farmers/ranchers identified as republican, while 14% identified as democrat. Only 5% of Native Americans identified as republican, while 52% identified as democrat (2). It is important to note that an entire 24% of Native Americans claimed “no interest in politics” (2). Political affiliation does not always correlate with belief in climate change, but it certainly was an indicator in this experiment. Climate change has definitely been politicized in our modern age, especially in the Trump era, where climate change denial has been synonymous with conservatism and right leaning individuals.

The second factor was the population’s source of climate change information. The majority of both ranchers/farmers and Native Americans get their climate change information from television, ranchers/farmers at 61%, and Native Americans at 48% (4). There wasn’t further data about the type of television that the rural population was watching, which is a very important factor. Almost every popular news channel seems to have it’s own political agenda. When you hear Fox News, it is pretty well defined in our modern age as a conservative leaning news outlet, the same with CNN and more liberal views. Depending on what news outlets both groups pay attention to, the data could be further affected by it.

One last factor that proved important were the religious views of both groups. While the majority of both the ranchers/farmers and Native Americans held religious beliefs, there were different ways that they each interpreted “the will of God”. In the words of a Nevada Farmer:

“I think it is very presumptuous of man to think he can control the earth and weather. God made the earth and controls the weather. All the control man could come up with would be wasted in one single volcano eruption. The idiots profiting off of the ruse of global warming, Al Gore, etc” (17).

This clearly demonstrates a feeling of an absence of control over such massive environmental changes. On the other hand, in the words of a Nevada tribe member:

“Our people treated our land with respect, and we continue to hold our land as a sacred place and continue to fight for water and fight to protect our environment. Respect for all life, including Mother Earth” (17).

This perspective clearly takes a more active approach, and reflects the data that more Native Americans are inclined to believe and attempt to prevent global warming. Religious beliefs certainly inform many American’s beliefs about climate change, and to varying degrees. This is the main factor that takes climate change out of a simply scientific arena, and confounds it in a way that makes it simply unapproachable from a purely scientific standpoint. As with most issues that are quite complex, multiple approaches ensure a better and more well rounded understanding of the topic.

This study does a great job of explaining a complex issue. It not only provides us with valuable data that gives us a glimpse of the goings on in rural areas of the United States, but it also provides potential solutions that encourage the idea that climate change is very much real, something that humans helped cause, and can be slowed down with enough human effort. The researchers believe that the best way to properly reach out to these isolated groups of farmers is to make connections with organizations that these farmers find credible, and discuss the issues through a comfortable medium (19). Another way to break through most effectively would be to go through the women in these communities, given that they are statistically more likely to believe in climate change and to be concerned about its negative effects, according to the study(19).

Another conclusion drawn by the researchers in this study is that “it is time to focus on capacity building and collaborative research with tribes” (19). Because the tribes in these rural areas are already more inclined to believe in climate change, and “their decision making is not always dominated by short-term economic gain”, unlike the majority of farmers, they are the best chance these rural communities have of learning to identify and fight against climate change (19).

It is easy to let climate change be a difficult subject to discuss, and to get upset by the opposing side of our own beliefs, but the next step for this country needs to be towards understanding. When both sides understand the impetus behind the other’s actions and the emotions behind them, then we can move closer towards change, and towards a country that protects the planet and prevents further harm to it.