Americans Love Nature but Don’t Feel Empowered to Protect It, New Research Shows

Climate Change: A Scientific or Political Issue?

Climate change has been in the news for more than 40 years. It’s typically covered as a scientific or political issue. However, social scientists like me have found that feelings and values are what drive people toward broad, collective change – not charts, graphs, or images.

Surveys confirm that the majority of Americans now believe that climate change is real. But many adults seem to feel too exhausted, defeated, or powerless to do anything about it.

How Do People Think About and Engage with Nature?

To understand people’s relationships with nature, we asked several questions. In one set, we asked, “How are humans and nature related? What is the role of humans in nature?” Over half of respondents (53%) noted that we should care for and preserve Earth. Some 45% explicitly mentioned the benefits of nature for human health and well-being. And 27% discussed how humans depend on Earth and its resources.

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About a quarter of responses (26%) mentioned that humans can choose to be positive or negative forces in nature. This was closely followed by statements that humans take too much from nature (23%).

Wanting to Do Better

Underlying all of this were strong feelings of love, longing, worry, and guilt. These emotions showed up most commonly in responses – usually through a literal statement, although sometimes by alluding to the emotion.

When discussing love, participants were most direct. They usually simply said, “I love it, honestly” or “Love it.” Longing was often expressed in slightly more varied ways, such as stating “It makes me sad to not be outside as much as I would hope to,” or “Wish I could go hiking and other things to get closer.”

Worry and guilt emerged in responses such as: “I try my best to respect the environment and take care of it. I know I can do better”; “I take care of it the best I can, but I wouldn’t say I make any large gestures either”; and “I don’t appreciate it enough.” One person simply responded: “Appreciation, respect, care, sadness.”

No Sense of How to Help

The way in which people talk about or portray an issue – their words, symbols, phrases, or images – is called a frame. Frames highlight a subset of an issue, which then generally becomes people’s primary way of thinking about something.

Positive self-efficacy frames – in other words, a belief that people can make a difference – have been largely absent from conversations about climate change. Political or distant environmental frames are more common.

For example, prominent images typically contain political figures or distant environmental impacts, such as smokestacks or melting ice. These tend to leave people feeling powerless or feeling that they have little to offer.

From Paralysis to Engagement

Social scientists have been learning through climate change research that some emotions paralyze and others catalyze.

Is it possible to reduce paralysis and match love for nature with hope? Other surveys show that Americans’ concern for future generations is rising, that they are worried about harm to plants and animals, and that nearly all groups see human actions as the cause of these concerns. However, as long as people lack a personal sense that they have the ability to make change, they won’t take steps such as telling political leaders to act.

Our next phase of research will build on findings from this survey by examining how ethical, moral, and spiritual considerations influence behavior. We want to know what’s required for these ideas to invoke a sense of personal empowerment that’s necessary to take action.

Conclusion

In conclusion, Americans love nature, but they don’t feel empowered to protect it. Our research shows that people are concerned about the environment, but they lack a sense of personal responsibility and agency to make change. To address this, we need to focus on empowering individuals to take action by highlighting positive self-efficacy frames and providing opportunities for people to engage with nature and feel a sense of connection to it.

FAQs

Q: What is the purpose of this research?

A: The purpose of this research is to understand how people think about and engage with nature, and to identify strategies for empowering individuals to take action to protect the environment.

Q: What methods did you use to collect data?

A: We used an open-ended survey that allowed respondents to answer however they wished, without predetermined choices.

Q: What were the main findings of the study?

A: The main findings of the study were that people are concerned about the environment, but they lack a sense of personal responsibility and agency to make change. We also found that people’s relationships with nature are complex and multifaceted, and that they often feel a sense of love, longing, worry, and guilt when thinking about the environment.

Q: What are the implications of the study’s findings?

A: The implications of the study’s findings are that we need to focus on empowering individuals to take action by highlighting positive self-efficacy frames and providing opportunities for people to engage with nature and feel a sense of connection to it.

Q: What is the next step for this research?

A: The next step for this research is to build on the findings from this survey by examining how ethical, moral, and spiritual considerations influence behavior, and to identify strategies for empowering individuals to take action to protect the environment.