Climate Change Perceptions Among Low Income Peoples of Color in California’s San Joaquin Valley

• In Event: How Has Climate Change Reshaped Scientific Expertise and the Expert? - II

Abstract

Popular media has given the impression that low income people are not concerned about climate change or that they deny climate change exists. Recent research has challenged this notion. We predicted that low income peoples of color in the San Joaquin Valley would not deny climate change and would be concerned about the effects of climate change. A thematic analysis of interviews with and conversations among undergraduate students at the University of California Merced revealed a number of interesting findings. Two main findings that will be discussed are as follows. First, most of the participants came from communities of agricultural workers. Because of this they were more attuned to changes in weather patterns. There was evidence of concern about generational differences in climate observation within these communities. Such observations were common examples of climate change, but participants were often not aware of this fact. Second, participants had usually become aware of the technical use of the term climate change in classes. Even though climate change was discussed as a serious issue in various classes, students had never been taught the scientific definition of climate change. The term remained an abstraction for these students. We propose that framing academic lectures and discussions regarding climate change in scientific terms, such as relating effects to the carbon cycle, would greatly improve student understanding of climate change issues.

Authors

• Noah Ray Martinez, University of California, Merced

• Brandon Batzloff, University of California Merced

• Michael Spivey, University of California Merced