Oakland County's Understanding of Climate Change
Climate change is a topic that many feel very strongly about, while others may not even understand the basics of what climate change really is. In order to get a better picture of how climate change is understood in Oakland County, Michigan, we conducted some research to gage individuals’ understanding on the matter.
Through the use of Twitter, Google Forms, and conversations with friends and family, we were able to collect data from over 50 individuals. The findings of our study showed that while a small percentage of individuals may not know much about climate change, the vast majority do consider themselves to be knowledgeable on the subject. However, still nearly half of our respondents failed to see how Climate Change is relative to their own life.
Pie charts were created to represent the data collected in the study. While 88.5% of respondents said they know what Climate Change is, only 53.8% believe that they are impacted by it.
Interestingly enough, the vast majority of those surveyed (88.5%) said that they know about Climate Change, but about half of those individuals said they don't see how it directly affects them. The striking reality is, though, that Climate Change is affecting all of us here in Michigan.
Learning how individual communities understand Climate Change is the first step towards making a difference. There are so many resources available to help raise awareness on the impacts of Climate Change in local communities.
What can you do?
Some of the ways that communities like Oakland County could increase their knowledge of Climate Change is by promoting informational flyers, raising awareness, and conducting environmental health campaigns to help reduce waste and live conservatively. Other ways to increase awareness could also include social media campaigns - by getting individuals involved on a platform where they can quickly gather more information, then by getting them involved on social media, in person events and programs could be held.
By continuing to survey individual communities and gage understanding, cities and counties can improve themselves and ultimately improve the environment through their work and dedication.
Get Involved on Social Media
YouTube created “Unf**ck it.” A series of 4 original YouTube shows to inspire social change and raise money for nonprofits who are dedicated to doing the same. The very blunt name comes from so many saying that our planet is totally… well you know, so they are saying let’s undo that, if it wasn’t obvious.
This led me to look more into what else they are doing in efforts to save the planet. Which let me to sustainability.google – Google has been carbon neutral since 2007 and will be carbon free by 2030… that’s less than a decade from now! They are committed to running their data centers and campuses on 24/7 carbon-free energy by 2030. They say that companies are not the only ones asking what more we can do to help the planet – increasingly people are asking themselves those questions too.
Which is why they also shared several new ways people can use Google’s products to make sustainable choices. One of the ways they are doing this is introducing new features to book flights or purchase appliances that have lower carbon footprints, a Nest program to support clean energy from home, and eco-friendly routing on google maps – and when people search questions on climate change, they show authoritative information from creditable sources like the united nations, in addition to the existing news sources – they even have a goal to help one billion people make more sustainable choices by 2022.
So why am I going on about this? Circling back to Lab 5 – a percentage of people said they weren’t sure if they were affected by climate change. I would never have even thought to search for a flight or appliance with a lower carbon footprint – until I read about what Google is doing to help. If those who are not sure exactly what climate change is or how they can help – would do a simple google search even, they would find ways that I’m sure they never thought of but have done in their lifetime. Which means they could be making a difference