Event Type
Research Presentation
Academic Department
Environmental Studies
Location
Dana Science Building, 2nd floor
Start Date
25-4-2025 1:00 PM
End Date
25-4-2025 2:30 PM
Description
Under the direction of Dr. Renee Godard and Dr. Kaila Thorn Climate change remains one of the most urgent global challenges, with its impacts increasingly felt across diverse communities. Public perception, particularly among youth, plays a pivotal role in driving environmental policy and collective action. This study explores the levels of concern among young adults (ages 18–29) in the United States and Ecuador regarding the impact of climate change on personal and global issues. A Qualtrics survey in English and Spanish was distributed via social media platforms in both countries, yielding 33 U.S. and 35 Ecuadorian responses from this age group. Findings reveal high levels of concern in both nations, though Ecuadorian youths expressed significantly greater anxiety regarding the personal impacts of climate change. This heightened worry may be driven by direct experiences with extreme weather events and infrastructure challenges (e.g. droughts, forest fires, and power shortages) which have increasingly affected the Amazon. Both groups perceived climate change as a severe threat to future generations, global populations, and ecosystems, aligning with previous global studies that highlight a generational divide in climate concern.
Worry about the Impacts of Climate Change Among Youths in Ecuador and the U.S
Dana Science Building, 2nd floor
Under the direction of Dr. Renee Godard and Dr. Kaila Thorn Climate change remains one of the most urgent global challenges, with its impacts increasingly felt across diverse communities. Public perception, particularly among youth, plays a pivotal role in driving environmental policy and collective action. This study explores the levels of concern among young adults (ages 18–29) in the United States and Ecuador regarding the impact of climate change on personal and global issues. A Qualtrics survey in English and Spanish was distributed via social media platforms in both countries, yielding 33 U.S. and 35 Ecuadorian responses from this age group. Findings reveal high levels of concern in both nations, though Ecuadorian youths expressed significantly greater anxiety regarding the personal impacts of climate change. This heightened worry may be driven by direct experiences with extreme weather events and infrastructure challenges (e.g. droughts, forest fires, and power shortages) which have increasingly affected the Amazon. Both groups perceived climate change as a severe threat to future generations, global populations, and ecosystems, aligning with previous global studies that highlight a generational divide in climate concern.