I tend to assume that educational experiences are essential to addressing fact based concerns. In the U.S., education has evidently been unsuccessful in convincing the general public that this country must act to address this problem. With a well-educated population, this lack of understanding and/or motivation, this situation is perplexing.
This post from The Conversation offers commentary on possible reasons U.S. citizens aren’t motivated by the climate change issue. I admit I know little about this source, but I don’t doubt the scientific research on changing climate so I am willing to read anything on the topic of acceptance.
The Conversation author argues that the unique position of the U.S. reflects political polarization and mistrust. The author argues going back to Al Gore that the commitment to addressing climate change became associated with Democrats and this divide has only been made wider in the era of Trump. The party differences in the rated importance of this issue are immense. The author argues that this politicization makes climate change an identity limiting the proportion of those who can argue for the urgency of the problem.
The second issue involves even among what would seem a well educated population the willingness to trust the science. Again, trust seems to have a political component:
”With its market-oriented, pro-business, and pro-religious agenda, the Republican party is naturally more distrustful of intellectuals and academics, including scientists.”
How Republicans and Democrats come through common educational experiences and end up with such different attitudes is certainly a serious conundrum for educators. Scientific facts are not partisan.